


Pieces

by Applepie



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Humor, Music Band, Pie, Separate bodies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-12
Updated: 2012-12-21
Packaged: 2017-12-07 15:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 70,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/749917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Applepie/pseuds/Applepie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yugi is ignored by his friends when Yami gains his own body. Angered, he runs away and ends up joining a band! Years later, Yugi finally returns with a gig in Japan. But what will happen when the gang crosses path with the band, PIE, and finds out Yugi is the Hottest Rock Band's lead singer?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. So long, and goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> So, this fic is complete already on ff.net. It's going to take me a while to transfer everything from ff to AO3.

Yugi gave a glance at his friends from the corner of his eye … No, they weren't his friends any more. Joey, Tristian, Tea and even Yami! They were barely friends; acquaintances at best.

_Do they even notice me?_

Today, like most recent days, Yugi's so-called friends and Yami walked pasted him like he was nothing. Like he was invisible to their eyes.

"Guys?" Yugi murmured quietly hoping a small, futile hope that today was the day it went back to normal; how it was like before. Before Yami got his own body, that is. And before everyone started to leave him.

His voice wavered through that single word. It unconsciously curled into a squeaking sound which caused even him to internally wince, never mind what  _they_  thought.

As it was, Tea twitched momentarily at his voice. "Yes? Do you need something?"

Yugi tried to work a smile up on his face. "I heard you were headed to the mall. Can I tag along?" he asked, a hesitant smile on his face.

Her amber eyes darted around him, perhaps not ashamed, but definitely guilty. "Er, well, we already have plans there, Yugi. I've been really looking forward to it, and don't want to change them," she said carefully.

Occasionally, Tea retorted with sharp words, other days she managed to hide better in her excuses. Still despite her relatively sincere sounding words today, Yugi could hear the underlying message as clear as water.  _Leave us alone; we don't want to hang with you._

Yugi swallowed his emotions as he stared morosely at her. When had his friends become people who would lie in his face just to avoid spending time with him? What had he done to deserve this?

A brown-haired boy raced past, hand waving over at them. "Hurry up, Tea! We're wasting time here. We're supposed to be at the mall  _ages_  ago!"

His words spurred the girl into action as she brushed past Yugi without another glance. "I'm coming, Tristian. It's not my fault!"

Yugi gritted his teeth, but sighed in the end, shoulder drooping as he proceeded to shuffle off. Once more he was condemned to walk home alone, yet again.

Yugi didn't know when this whole thing started - he was hesitant to blame Yami - but the timing seemed to coincide with the approximate time Yami received his own body. That was barely a year ago. Thanks to their begging, Shadi had finally gave in to their demands and found a way to separate Yami from Yugi. They had been ecstatic at the thought. Yugi was the happiest one of them all.

His mind had already been filled with the thoughts of a hundred games to share with Yami. Now that they had separate bodies, competing against each other was doable at last. For once they could even have a proper duel.

It was fun. Fun while it lasted.

But slowly and surely, Yami and the other three drifted off without him.

More and more recently Yami seemed to be invited to events that no one bothered to inform Yugi about. In group projects, the four of them chose each other to join so quickly that Yugi had no choice but to bow his head in defeat and find partners with the other misfits of the class. Even challenges for duels between them ceased - why settle for dueling Yugi when Yami was a much better duelist?

Yami was a natural sun, shining so bright and warm that everyone couldn't help but be attracted to him. And Yugi was stuck in the shadow he cast, slowly being forgotten.

Yugi wanted to rant and rave and complain and blame Yami for everything, but it wasn't completely his fault. A part of it was, perhaps, maybe, possibly. Another part, Yugi knew, was his own fault.

He was distinctly reminded of his old life in middle school, way back before Gramps gifted him with the millennium puzzle. He'd always been weak, friendless, ignored, and bullied by the whole school. It was only with the appearance of Yami that his whole life changed. It was Yami who helped turned his bullies into his friends, who attracted adventure and challenges, who turned his pitiful school life to a fulfilling one.

Perhaps with Yami his own man, things were only just realigning itself?

Whatever it was, Yugi was willing to work for his friends. He was swallowing his nervousness and extending invitation himself. He was trying his best, can't you see? He was doing all these things that his old, old middle school self would have never done, but then why were things still not getting any better?

Why did everyone love Yami so much more than him?

What was he doing wrong?

* * *

 

"I'm home!" Yugi announced when he finally arrived back to the game shop. "Hey Gramps."

Yugi shot a smile over at his grandfather, grateful at least someone here loved him. Somedays, when he dwelled too long on depressing thoughts, he needed all the reminders he could get.

"Welcome home, Yugi," Solomon Mutou, replied. The man shuffled over to the front counter. "Could you help me with a few boxes of cards? They're a bit heavy for me."

"Sure," Yugi said, smile on his face. He loved his grandfather dearly, but the old man seemed to forever forget his age. He still traveled to Egypt to explore the pyramids like he was a young man, and Yugi was certain if he hadn't arrived home just then, Solomon would have tried to pick up the boxes himself, heavy or not.

Yugi couldn't help but stagger at the weight as he picked up the first box. It was heavy indeed.

Hoping to look as if he could handle it, Yugi took slow strides towards the counter. He really didn't want Gramps to do this himself, and he didn't want to keep him waiting. Sadly, it was a mistake. So focused on keeping the box up, Yugi paid no attention to the uneven ground he was walking on. It was really no surprise when he slipped.

It was like an explosion, the way the contents in the box flew into the air as Yugi's arms swung upwards in an attempt to find balance.

Yugi's eyes widened, mortified.

"Oh no. Gramps, I'm so sorry!"

He hurriedly scooped up cards, trying to fix things right as quickly as he could. He stumbled in his frantic movements, bumping into a lamp with his elbow. It wobbeled and fell on the floor with a  _clang._

Yugi winced. Solomon shook his head.

"It's okay Yugi; I'll get it," Solomon sighed, slowly lowering himself onto his knees, "Don't worry about it. Why don't you head up to work on your homework? I'll handle it."

"I- I can help."

"I'll handle it," Solomon only repeated, and Yugi could tell his Gramps didn't want hims around any longer. When he was trying his best, he only made things worse. Was this why everyone was leaving him?

Yugi trudged up to his room, Gramps muttering voice at his back. "Dear boy needs to be more careful like Yami. Always rushing around... My, thank god this rare card wasn't damaged-"

Yugi quickly shut his door and sighed, plopping down on his bed. It was like no one was on his side anymore. At least Grampa  _tried_  to be discreet.

* * *

The next day came too quickly. It was painfully becoming harder and harder for Yugi to plaster on a smile on his face as the days went by, chipped away by actions and words (both intentionally and not) of his family and friends - acquaintances, rather. Purposely approaching his peers with the assumption that everything would be back to normal, and that the day before was nothing more than a horrid nightmare, was hurting Yugi more and more, but Yugi couldn't stop hoping.

Yugi intercepted his the group of four on their way out from school with a plastic smile on his face. "Hey, you guys busy today?"

"What do you want?" Tristian asked. Perhaps his mind was to much on the past, but Yugi cringed at his voice as the memory of the bully Tristian once was fleeted across his mind.

Yugi stammered for a quick second before he took a deep breath, gathering his courage. "You know that new movie last week ... I was wondering if you guys want to see it with me later?" he asked hopefully.

All he got were groans in response.

"Remember what happened last time? And the time before?" Tristian replied for the group. " _And_  the time before that," he continued. "We didn't even get to watch the movie. We either spend the whole time arguing with the cashier that you are actually old enough to watch the film, or if you actually have a student discount or not. We never manage to watch it end the end."

"Well," Yugi bit his lip, "Well, how about something else? Amusement park?"

"Today?" Tea winced.

"We have plans alre'dy. We're going to ta arcade. Me, Tristian, 'n Tea are try'n ta get Yami here a'justed ta games and gamin' machines. Much betta' than goin' ta parks, ya know. 'Secially tha rich bastard's park." Joey said while looking at the others for their approval.

Yugi's heart sunk. Yet again they'd made plans without him. It hurt to hear.

He glanced over at Yami. He didn't know why he looked, but perhaps he was hoping his Yami would extend the invite, or somehow realised how they had been treating him. Yet, there was nothing. Yami was grinning broadly, mind clearing thinking about the arcade as he quizzed Joey about the different games present.

It  _was_  a new world for the Pharaoh, thousands of years in the future, and he finally had a body to do whatever he pleased; Yami had every reason to be distracted and excited.

So why did it hurt so badly?

* * *

 

Yugi chucked his backpack down on his bed. His grandfather left for a dig early that morning, and Yami was still at the arcade with  _his_   _friends_. A storm raged in Yugi's chest. He didn't know if it was from depression or anger, but it roared and roared.

"I can't do this anymore!" he finally snapped into the silent house.

His voice echoed through the empty house. No one was there to reply. The silence did nothing more than further pull Yugi deeper into depression. This was his life now, wasn't it? Always alone with no one to talk to but himself. Would anyone even notice if he left? The only relatives he had left was Gramps and Yami. Gramp's work kept him busy enought. And as for Yami, he had his friends to keep him busy. It wasn't like he would miss Yugi - today proved that enough.

What was the point of even being here?

And as quickly as that thought occurred a second one emerged as well.  _Yugi_ didn't _need to be here._

Yugi could leave.

Where to, it didn't matter. His thoughts were spiraling downwards the longer he stayed here. His smile was becoming less genuine. He  _needed_  to get away from it all.

He leaped into action at once, pulling out an old suitcase from his closet. He took his time wandering around the house, gathering the necessary accessories.

A small innocent tug in his stomach told him to stay. Told him ' _you're wrong to do this; you're being too dramatic_ '. So, Yugi took his time, hoping for someone to come and stop him. Someone, anyone, to tell him he was wrong, and it was only a spur of a moment thought. Hoping for at least the doorbell or phone to ring, snapping him up from this nightmare.

As he at last finished packing, he looked up and sighed; nothing happened. It was as though it was meant for him to leave.

And so, he took his cue.

Finally accepting his destiny, Yugi made his last stop in Yami's room. Holding himself straight with confidence, he slapped his dueling deck on Yami's desk, not sparing it a second glance when he turned on his heel and left.

"I don't need that - and never will again." Dueling was Yami's thing, and that was a deck he built with Yami. If he wanted a fresh start without Yami always hovering around him, he needed to cut his ties.

Writing a quick note goodbye, he ran out, accepting the dark and cold world outside. This was where his life laid from now on. With a wave, Yugi summoned a Taxi and directed it the Domino Airport. He relaxed as the cab started. As he let his hand fall from his face, his arm brushed against his puzzle. Yugi looked at it with surprise; he had gotten so used to the weight around his neck that he forgot all about it.

He stared at the puzzle, immersed in the past. Suddenly, with a jolt, Yugi came to a conclusion. With a jerk, he tugged off his puzzle. Opening the taxi window, Yugi flung it out onto the street with one thought on his mind:

_So long Yami._

"Time to start a new life," Yugi thought to himself. "A clean, new start. One without you. I'll show you I can make friends and exist without your help."

With a smile, Yugi stared off into space.


	2. Bitter stained letter

A large grin stretched on Yami's face, eyes fixed on the screen in front.

 _"Almost there!"_ the mechanical voice yelled at him.

In his mind directions filled his thoughts. "Left, left, right, left, up, down and right, right and left, up, left, right, up, left, up, right, left and up, up, down, ri-"

Abruptly, everything froze.

Yami's body slowed to a halt. Admittedly, nothing  _but_  Yami had stopped - the crowd behind him were still cheering for him, his competitor on the dance machine was still moving, colourful lights still flashed to the beat - but to Yami, it suddenly felt like the world had.

The grin dropped off his face. Yami could feel every beat as his heart throbbed sudden violent jumps that tore at his chest. Unconsciously, his pale hand sought its way to his chest.

Around him, the crowd was restless and confused. His friends shared concerned glances at each other, but Yami never noticed. Yami was immersed in his own world, the maze that was his mind, searching for something. What that something was, Yami wasn't too sure. But  _something_  wasn't right, and it hurt his every being with its nagging insistence.

His utter soul was yelling at him, tearing itself apart - and then suddenly he knew.

_"Yami!"_

The shout in his ear brought him back to life with a start.

"I -" the man looked frantically at the group gathered around him, his aburn eyes wide and fearful. With out finishing his sentence, he raced out of the arcade leaving the already confused crowd something more to wonder about.

It was hardly a second before the three friends followed suit.

* * *

 

By the time Yami arrived back at the Game Shop, the first thing he noticed was the empty house, and the unlit rooms. His soul already knew something was wrong - something to do with his other half. It was only now that his mind also did, given the visual proof.

The house was clearly deserted, lacking all signs of life. On any other day, lights would be one throughout the house. The front door would be open with a cheery 'Open' sign hung on the front. The chimney would be puffing out white smoke into the chilly sky. And there would also be the smell of food as Yugi (or Gramps when he wasn't traveling) within would be preparing dinner.

Right now, however, none of the above applied.

Nothing was right.

Yami unlocked the door and pushed in. There was a dead eerie silence that spoke of darkness and abandonment. Yami frowned, a fear creeping in his stomach. Yugi wasn't home. But Yugi was  _supposed_ to be home. Yugi was  _always_  home.

He rushed straight into Yugi's attic room in hopes of finding the boy there. There was a slight hope in his mind that Yugi was merely feeling unwell and only resting in bed.

With his mind and eyes so focused on his goal, he passed a folded white note on the counter top without noticing.

Yugi was obviously not in his room. Yami fretted.

How was it possible he lost Yugi? Stolen? Kidnapped? Yami didn't know. Yugi was  _always_  there.

That was the thing about his abiou. The kid was quiet and unassuming, but at the end of the day, Yugi was always around with a smile as he greeted Yami home. It was so unusual and uncomfortable to come home to nothing.

Yami slid down in front of Yugi's bed, mind running wild. He tried to recall if Yugi mentioned anything to him, but for the life of him, he couldn't recall speaking with Yugi after they had parted ways at school. Joey, Tea, and Tristian had cornered him early that morning, telling about their plans to take him to the arcade. The plans had filled Yami's mind for the better of the day. He'd spent all free time imagining all the games Joey teasingly tempted him with that he'd never heard about.

It wasn't long before the rest of the gang finally arrived after him. Yami was sitting solemnly on the floor when they saw him.

"What's wrong, Pharaoh?" Joey asked cautiously.

Yami waved his arms to gesture the room. "Yugi," he said, and that, quite frankly, in his mind, summed up everything.

"What 'bout him?" Joey asked with a frown, "He's not here."

"Precisely!"

"He's probably out?" he suggested hesitantly.

Tristian's eyes lit up. "Right. Didn't he say something about watching a movie?"

"Yeah!" Joey agreed.

Yami's shoulders untensed. "Did he?" he murmured to himself. He let out a sigh of relief.

And then Tea arrived, bearing a piece of paper in her hand."Hey guys, I found a note on the counter downstairs. It's addressed to you, Yami," she said.

Yami's head snapped upwards towards the note in her hand. She handed it over and his eyes quickly scanned over it before suddenly dropping it onto the floor. He moved away from it, hand wringing together like it had been burned. Without another word, the Pharaoh sudden leaped up from his place, rushing out the door.

The others could only watch as the man ran downstairs and out the door with a slam. The three left in the room looked where Yami sat, then back at the note. The writing of the note was lying upwards towards them. Sure, curiosity killed the cat, but Yami was their friend, and they wanted to help. They sneaked a glance at the note.

It read:

_Yami,_

_Sometimes I wonder if the millennium items_   _are a curse. One way or another, someone with an item tries to hurt me. I don't know if you're deliberately ignoring me and taking over my friends and life, but I've had enough. I'm glad you're enjoying your new life. Perhaps it was your life to begin with. Perhaps they were always your friends to begin with, and I was the unwanted tag-along. I tried to be continual loyal but all that made me feel is a stronger sense of betrayal from all of you. I've tried so hard and nothing changed. So I give up._  
Goodbye. I'm going away. To a different country or maybe to the other side of the world - you'll never know. I might miss you, I might not.  
It pains me to spend time around you and you don't even notice I'm hurting. I thought you were my other half. I guess not.  


There was a smudge on the bottom of the note. It was a tear stain if Joey ever saw one. He turned away, guilt gnawing on his stomach. They made Yugi cry and flee, and no one noticed the signs until it was smacking them in the face. Forget friends, what sort of  _humans_  were they?


	3. Destined friends

By the time Yugi arrived at the airport, it was already dark. It was as if nature herself was on his side, covering his tracks with her shadows, letting him leave and fulfill the destiny he was truly suited for. He, however, never noticed that. He was, instead, in a daze as he paid for his ticket - any ticket as long as it was for the next flight.

As much as Yugi wanted to leave his nightmare behind, he was scared to do so alone. I mean, really, what seventeen-year-old in their right mind would want to leave his home country, especially on a limited amount of money?

"No," Yugi thought to himself fiercely, "I have to leave to -" He glanced down at the ticket suddenly, realising he really had no idea where it was to, "... America. If I go back, they'll just laugh at me and tell me that I'm too weak. Besides, they're probably already celebrating now that I'm gone."

Well, actually a search party was going on, but close enough, Yugi.

Yugi sat down on the waiting chairs and calmed himself. His plane was going to arrive soon and he didn't trust his legs not to give out. He stared out the large windows clearing his mind. His hands were unconsciously gripping tightly onto his seat. His knuckles were beyond white by now.

Watching as a plane landed not too far from the building, Yugi's hand tightened some more.

Was he really going to do this? Was this really the right choice?

Fear, terror, dread, horror, fright... everything seemed too mild to describe how he was feeling right now.

Would he regret his choice if he went on the plane?

Was this the right thing to do?

_"PASSENGERS HEADING ON TO THE PLANE FOR AMERICA, NEW YORK CITY PLEASE STAND BY. YOU WILL ENTERING MOMENTARY. I REPEAT, PASSENGERS HEADING ON TO THE PLANE FOR AMERICA, NEW YORK CITY PLEASE STAND BY. YOU WILL BE ENTERING MOMENTARY. "_

Yugi jolted up at the sudden announcement. This was it; it was his flight! Yugi double, triple, quadrupole checked his ticket anxiously, as if each time would yield a new ticket. Yet it never changed.

With shaking legs, Yugi finally forced himself to rise from his seat, only for his legs to give out beneath him.

"Oh, come on!"

Did he really dare to go through with it? Did he dare to go alone to America, even though he knew no one living there? Alone!

Yugi sighed suddenly, "I wrote the note. I bought the ticket. I waited for the plane. I WILL leave." He tried to persuade himself further, "If I don't go, then I would have been only wasting money and time. I  _have_  to go. For my own sake. There's nothing left for me in Domino." A bitter thought entered his mind, "Yami took it all away."

Taking a deep breath, Yugi gathered his courage and tried once more. This time, he made it onto his plane.

There was no turning back now.

* * *

 

The sound of babies crying and people laughing and shouting engulfed him. It was heard everywhere in the plane; there was no escaping it .

Yugi rubbed a tired hand over his face. His stress had tired him out, but for the life of him, he couldn't fall asleep. There was too much going on in the plane, and call him a picky sleeper, but he sorely missed his soft bed in his quiet little attic back at the Game Shop. "Vomit and screaming," he grumbled to himself, "Wonderful."

It had been at least half an hour since the plane first took off. Thing turned gradually more and more unruly in each passing minute.

"Nothing like a loud flight to make you miss home," a voice quipped from behind him.

Yugi gave a jolt of surprise, turning around quickly. There was a raven-haired female seated behind him, perhaps older than him, giving him a nodding smile.

"Where ever home is," Yugi murmured, but reciprocated the smile.

"Well..." the girl said, watching him thoughtfully, "Home is where the heart is, or so I hear." She said extending her hand over Yugi's backrest,"I'm Genta." She clearly wasn't Japanese, with her accented, but passable Japanese. Not to mention the handshake.

Hesitantly, Yugi shook it. "I'm Yugi," he replied cautiously.

"Yuki?" asked Genta mishearing him. "Doesn't that mean snow?" she muttered to herself, switching to English. Thankfully, English had been Yugi's forte at school.

"Yes. It can mean snow," said Yugi. He opened his mouth to continue and correct her on his name, but a thought popped into his mind. If he was to start a new life, he might as well give himself a new name. Unofficially, of course, seeing as his passport still said 'Yugi'. Still, among friends, nicknames were always present, weren't they? And Yuki  _did_ have a nice ring to it. "I'm Yuki," he said, putting all his confidence in his words.

"I always thought that was a female name..." Genta murmured.

Yugi frowned. "Is not!" It was a perfectly androgynous, thank you very much. And though it was spur of the moment, Yugi also liked it quite a bit.

Genta blinked at his glowered, before holding her hands up in a placating manner. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. That was rude."

Yugi sighed. "I apologise as well."

The girl watched him for a second longer before a frown appeared on her face. "So where are you headed?" she asked. There was something cautious in her voice as she regarded him. Yugi couldn't figure out why. Nor could he think of an excuse.

"Uh, ...around?"

"Do you have a hotel booked, or are you staying with friends?"

Yugi grimaced at the thought of his friends (had they ever been, with the way they so readily left him for Yami?), before replying, "Maybe?" and hoping it sounded more confident out loud than it did in his mind.

Genta was clearly not convinced. "Do you know where you're headed once you reach JFK?"

"Where?" he asked, confused.

She sighed softly, shaking her head. "One thing," she finally said, "Tell me one thing, truthfully." She waited until Yugi nodded before she continued. "Are you running away from home?"

Yugi jolted, startled, and that was all the confirmation she needed.

"How?" Yugi finally asked when she didn't say anything more. She seemed to be debating something to herself. Still, she answered him.

"They say the eyes are windows to the soul," she said lightly, "but it was what you said when I first introduced myself. 'Where ever home is,' you said, like you didn't have one anymore." Genta pursed her lip. "And," she added, "I suppose I, er, sorta ran away once myself. Sorta." She gazed over at Yugi, and whatever she had been previously debated was cleared up immediately.

"I went to stay with my best friend," she said, "when I sorta ran away. It's nice to have someone who understands and willing to accept you until you are back on your feet. Do you have somewhere like that, Yuki?"

Yugi lowered his head. Did he? Maybe he  _had,_ months ago, before his friends slowly forgot about his existence. Now, not anymore.

Genta nodded at his admittance. "Okay. Then stay with me."

Yugi's head snapped up. "Sorry?"

"Well I say 'me', but it's not really my house," she continued. "It's my friend's house. The one I told you about. And two other friends drop by to free-load occasionally too," she added, "An extra person's not going to make a difference."

"I-" Yugi didn't know what to say. But really, what  _could_  he say? It was either accept her generosity, or live on the streets, or somewhere just as seedy. He knew he didn't have much money, and rooming with people who seemed trustworthy seemed like the best bet. How long would he last living alone? "Thank you very much," Yugi said, bowing as well as he could on their airplane seat.

Genta gave him a soft smile. "Well then, I hope we'll be great friends." She offered him her hand again.

Yugi shook it again. "I hope so as well."

 


	4. Fear the roommate

Yuki's thoughts of paradise on a beautiful stress-free island was interrupted as he felt someone ruffling his hair. His hand immediately snapped up and clamped onto the intruder.

"Owww!"

As the yowl echoed through his mind, he searched through his brain for the matching person of the voice.

"Gintao!" Yuki yelled in realization. He forgot he was on a plane!

His embarrassment grew as he realized he attacked his new friend -especially one who decided to let him stay with her.

"You should cut your nails. They're even longer than mine."

Yuki's embarrassment grew larger at the comment, and his face went a couple shades redder.

"Not to mention my name isn't 'Gintao'. It's 'Genta'! Genta with an 'e' and 'a'." She continued with annoyance.

Yuki nodded, looking at his dirty shoes with interest. "Genta… that's what I meant to say."

"Sure it was." She muttered with sarcasm. Despite her tone, there was humor in her voice, and because of that, Yuki knew she was just teasing him. Again.

"Come on you ditz," she said with her hand still on his head. "The plane landed ages ago. Unless you feel like camping up here, we'd better get a move on."

"I still prefer palm treed beach island more." Yuki pouted to himself.

Genta just shook her head. He was being weird again.

As soon as Yuki and Genta found their bags, Genta grabbed Yuki's small hands, rushed him out of the airport and hauled in a cab. Because of poor Yugi's small size, he could do nothing more than to hold on and hope he wouldn't get hurt along the way.

It was a relief for little Yuki when he finally settled in the cab and took a breath for the first time since he got off.

It sure seemed like Genta didn't like to waste time. Yuki made a mental note of the fact in case it would be important in the future.

You never know.

As the cab speed towards Genta's house, Yuki heart was pounding like mad. His regret came rushing back to him.  _Why did he agreed to stay with this girl? What did he even know about her! All he knew was that she was as sarcastic as he was on the plane, and that she too ran away from home once. Besides that, he knew nothing! What about her criminal records? Did she have any?_

Yuki was berating himself of his stupidity when the taxi suddenly jolted to a stop. Beside him, Genta jumped up from her seat, grabbed the luggage and pulled Yugi up all in one swift movement. Quickly paying the Taxi driver, the two ran up towards the house.

The house itself was not very big, but it seemed very cozy to live in. Beside the house grew a field of beautiful flowers. As Yuki looked further down, he noticed that it was surrounded by many tall magnificent trees.

Yuki sighed happily. It was like a picture from a fairy tale. It was surprising how every thing just looked so perfect and wonderful to live in. Immediatly, his regrets vanished.

As Yuki admired the scene before him, Genta pulled him up towards the house door.

"So, wht do you think?"

Yuki took a deep breath and focused on the house. What  _was_  his final decision?

The door creaked open slowly and they could hear a loud thumping sound coming towards them.

"A dog, maybe?" thought Yuki. What else could describe the noise? As the door flung open, Yugi felt himself get pushed to the ground, a heavy weight sprawled on his chest.

"Stop your mindless pouncing, Kaith." Genta stated simply.

Yuki frowned. Kaith? Who was that? The dog? Wait, Kaith? Kai? Where did he hear that name before?

"Fine, fine."

The weight on Yuki shifted off, and Yuki was able to breathe again. Looking up, he noticed that it was a girl who had pounced on him, not a dog. She was the most peculiar girl ever. She had red hair, with bits of yellow and orange dyed everywhere like a hurricane of fire. Not to mention, she also wore what Yuki could only describe as the entire rainbow on her clothes. She was like a walking fashion disaster, except it somehow suited her just fine.

Genta gestured to the girl in front of him. "Yuki, this is Kaithey. She owns this house and also my roommate. I phoned ahead on the plane to ask if you could stay, and she agreed."

"Hi spikey little Yuki! I'm Kaithey and welcome to my humble home!" Kaithey sang suddenly, expressing her excitement.

Hearing her foolish singing in an enthusiastic voice, Yuki couldn't resist but to tease her. "You can't sing at all! Not a single bit!" He sang back.

Kaithey looked back at Yuki, an eyebrow arched. "I'm quite sure I can sing better than you." She said straightaway, a tone of challenge seeping in. "In fact, I will sing one of the  _most popular_  songs in the world in the  _most perfect_  voice you will  _ever_  hear."

Yuki tried to judge her intentions by her voice. Frankly, she seemed quite serious. He watched as she took a deep breath, and slowly opened her mouth to form the first word. Yuki himself subconsciously took a deep breath as he saw her do so.

At this point, Kaithey looked quite like a professional singer, and Yuki didn't want to miss a single moment of the song.

A sudden grin split on the girl's face, "I love you! You love me! We're a happy family! With a great big hug, and a kiss from me to you! Won't you-"

Yuki couldn't help it. He snorted out loud in the middle of her verse, hand clasped in front of his still giggling mouth. "Hey, what was that?" he choked out between laughs, "I thought you said it was a popular song!"

"It _is_  popular!" she yelled back, "Do you know how many little kids watch that show every day? It's sooo popular among them!"

Yuki laughed at her comment. "I thought you were going to sing something popular among teenagers! Not preschool kids!"

"Well, you weren't specific! Besides, it's still popular among some teenagers.  _Barney and Friends_  is a great show! It's actually educational! Yale researchers called the program 'a model of what preschool television should be'. So 'ha' to you!"

Yuki raised his eyebrow in wonder. How did she know that? Who would search the web just to find out about what Yale researchers thought about Barney?

"Anyways," she continued, "If you really think that was so bad, then why don't  _you_  sing a song? A professionally done, popular teenage song, as you put it?" Kaithey challenged.

In the heat of the moment, the former duelist's answer was immediate. "Fine!" Yuki retorted, "And I bet it's going to be the better than yours."

The girl let out a crackle, "Alright, a bet! I love bets! How about you, Genta? Shall we bet?" Her voice oozed hyper excitement.

Genta sighed, "Sure, why not? How much are you willing to lose?"

"Yippee! I bet ten bucks that Yuki will sing so much better than me!"

"Wouldn't you rather bet yourself to be better?" Genta asked hopefully.

"No way! You know I can't sing, Gen." the girl said as-a-matter-of-factly. "I don't want to lose money. I need it for my chocolates!" she added in a 'duh' voice.

"Okay, fine. I will bet for Yuki to win the contest, and you will bet for the opposite result. Is that correct?"

"Yup!" Kaithey answered without hesitation. She was too busy thinking about all the different kinds of chocolates she could buy with ten more dollars.

Yuki giggled slightly. That Kaithey really should listen to Genta's statement more carefully. And Genta was slyer than he thought.

The boy cleared his throat. "Listen carefully Kaithey, I am going to beat you so badly." he said, trying not let let his voice tremble. If that girl could sing so  _horribly_  and not care, why should he care how he sung? Clearly neither of the girls would make fun of him.

Indeed, he was nervous at first, but as he got into the song, he just forgot about the two girls listening to him. It was like he was in heaven; not a single boundary blocked his path. He forgot all his troubles and remembered nothing more than the song he was singing.

Yuki was disappointed when he realized that the song was about to end. How he wished he could stay in his world of harmony just a bit longer.

As the song came to a halt, Yugi immediately remembered about Genta and Kaithey once again. In an instance, he face exploded into a red ripe tomato.

Genta and Kaithey, both staring at Yuki, had the exact same expression with open mouths and equally shocked faces. Boy could that boy sing. It was surprising how Yuki was able to capture their attention just with a simple song. Imagine how it would be like with a larger audience.

_...yes, imagine that indeed..._

"That was wonderful, Yuki!" Genta exclaimed.

"Thanks." Yuki was still as red as ever, but he was extremely pleased with himself. He had found the one thing he was good at, seeing as dueling was Yami's thing.

Seeing that staring at the boy in amazement was making him more and more nervous, Genta turned to her friend instead, taking the attention off the young boy."That reminds me," Genta started, "Don't you owe me ten bucks, Kaithey?"

"Hm?" Kaithey paused. "Oh yeah!"

Genta raised an eyebrow. Wait, she knew? She didn't get tricked? Reaching into her green jeans, Kaithey pulled out a crisp ten dollar bill and handed it to Genta. Receiving the bill, Genta sighed crossed between irritation and exasperation.

"Kaithey, you  _do_  know this is Monopoly money, right?"

Kaithey nodded, "Of course I do. Do you really think I'm stupid?"

"Then  _why_  did you give me this?"

Kaithey tilted her head to one side, giving her the look of absolute confusion. "I owed you ten bucks, didn't I?"

"I meant ten bucks in money I can use!"

"But you  _can_  use that! That's the only kind of money you can use in Monopoly!"

"Kaith, when I say 'use', I mean use in real life." Genta explained, patience wearing thin, "As in use in the mall to buy clothes and stuff like that."

Kaithey shrugged, "Oh, too bad then. You should have been more specific in the first place. You and Yuki are so alike."

"Kaithey…" Genta growled dangerously.

"Yes, may I help you?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

"I swear, Kaithey. I swear that you let me win the bet just so you could make fun of me like this."

Kaithey frowned, "What bet?"

Yuki, who had been standing beside them watching the whole time couldn't help it but laugh. What a silly pair they were.

Perhaps living here wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

The three had been in the living room for a while, when Genta suddenly got up.

"Would you like something to drink?" She asked them.

Yuki and Kaithey, who were both sitting on the couch of the living room, declined the offer. Walking out from the kitchen, Genta held one cup of steaming hot tea in her hand.

She sat down beside the two.

"Sorry we had to waste so much time outside in the cold." She said to Yuki, "I did try to get home earlier, hoping that Kaith wouldn't be awake yet."

"But it was around three when we got off the plane!" Yuki frowned, confused, "Who wouldn't be awake by then?"

"Hey, it's summer. Kaithey likes sleeping in very late during the summer. She says something about making up for all the time she had to wake up early for school."

The couch shifted as Kaithey stood up. "Hey! Stop talking as if I'm not there. I can hear you talking about me, you know. I'm going to the kitchen. Anyone who wants chocolate will have to buy some themselves!"

Genta chuckled as she watched Kaithey sulk into the kitchen.

"Don't mind her; she has really constant mood changes. She's too hyper some times too. I swear, something's wired up wrong in that brain of hers. I think it must have something to do with her eating chocolates so constantly." Genta rambled on.

Yuki nodded. "Okay…"  _Was she always like this; rambling on about random things?_

Genta, as to respond his thoughts, shifted nervously in her seat.

 _So that was her problem; she was worried about something._ Yuki froze.  _Oh no, was he going to get kicked out now?_

"Genta, I-"

Genta, not hearing him, interrupted. "Anyways Yuki, I was wondering... Just wondering, mind you, nothing like forcing you in any way. Don't think I'm making you because we're letting you live with us, becuase it's nothing like that! Please don't misunderstand, Yuki."

"I understand, but what's wrong?"

"I was - we were wondering if you would... uh, well, if you would want to join my friends and I? As in job-wise? Or work, career, whatever you call it." Genta asked hopefully.

"Job? Me? With you and others? Are you sure? I might not be the best choice. I can be clumsy, and messy, and …" Yuki was too shocked by the offer to think properly.

There was a short frown on the girl's face, "Don't discourage yourself, Yuki! Maybe that's why you think you're so clumsy." She lectured, "Start believing in yourself and you can do anything! Besides, it's not really a job at all. All of us working call it a hobby more than a job."

"Shouldn't you ask the rest of the group first, then? Just because you think I should join doesn't mean everyone will," Yuki exclaimed, "and I really don't want to cause anyone to start hating their hobby. Besides, you probably don't even know if I'm capable!" Yuki's face drooped at the thought of Genta's friends rejecting him from their group.

"No, they trust who I pick." The older girl said seriously, as if daring him to oppose her, "And if you're still not sure about the job, then let me tell you about it. Then, maybe later, I could get the gang over and they'll tell me what they think about you." Genta paused with a smile, "And Yuki, trust me, you're capable."

"That's a good idea." Yuki paused suddenly, with a thought on his mind. "Actually, before the job, do you think, just maybe, you and Kaithey tell me about yourselves? I'm not forcing, I just kinda want to know who I'm living and possibly working with. That is if you don't mind!" He added quickly.

"We'll tell you," Genta said smiling at Yugi's innocence, "Sit; this will take a while. And while we're at it, how about a deal? After we tell you about us, you have to tell us about you."

"Deal!"

Genta nodded as if knowing he would accept it. She took a deep breath. "Well, first of all, I live with my grandparent, but I don't see them anymore. It has something to do with my job - kind of. Well, anyways, they don't approve of it. I really don't see why they don't, though; it's a really great job with good friends." exclaimed Genta.

Yuki frowned as the memory of his family and friends leaving him came into his mind.

"I don't know." Genta continued, "Once they started to tell me that my friends were a bad influence and stuff, I ran away. It was actually more than just that. We were in really bad times those days. I guess all the factors just got together and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I still feel a bit guilty for running away, but I can't go back and face them. I feel like that their lives will be better if I just leave and never come back. They have, after all, said that to my face."

"I think I know how you feel, Genta … I feel a bit like that too with my friends - my old friends, I should say."

Genta nodded absentmindedly, "Well, after I left, Kaithey was generous enough to give me a place to stay with her. My grandparents never really paid too much attention to me, so they don't know that Kaithey's a friend, and they don't know where to find me. They probably don't care anyways. They're probably still blaming me for all that ... stuff ... It's not my fault! I-It- Well, maybe it is, but - Arghh! Stupid parents should know better - I tried -" Genta's story slowly became more and more incoherent. It seemed like she forgot she had an audience already.

"Genta?"

The girls looked up. "Oh, sorry. Where was I?"

"It's fine, you don't have to say anymore. The rest of the story was obviously meant for yourself. It seems like you're not ready to share it yet. You'll tell me when you're ready, right?"

Genta look at him with gratitude. "Okay."she said simply.

Yuki smiled. Perhaps he would find out some other time when she felt more comfortable around him.

"So," Yuki started, changing the subject "Tell me what about Kaithey. She seems like she has an interesting history."

"Not quite." Genta said with a sad smile. "Here she comes now. You can ask her in person."

Just as Genta said, Kaithey came, storming into the room. "Did you just say my name? If you don't mind, I'm  _trying_ to eat." She lectured Genta with a disappointed voice. What a lousy friend she was! What other friend would distract her from eating?

"Actually, no I didn't. Yuki did."

"Oh! Okay." Kaithey said smiling once again.

Genta rolled her eyes, "What, your best friend can't distract you, but a perfect stranger is allowed to?" she muttered under her breath.

Kaithey spectacularly ignored her, turning to the tri-coloured haired boy beside her, "What do you need? I can help you with anything!" she paused. "No, really,  _anything_. I'm the master of the world! I WILL RULE EVERYTHING! MUHAHAHAHA! MUHAHAHA!" Kaithey's voice got louder by every word she said. "And then, the world will cower under the force that is CHOCOLATE! ALL HAIL! Chocolate for president!"

"Calm, Kaithey." Genta drawled expertly, "We don't care about what you're eating. We're normal people unlike you. We don't need to get hyped up on chocolate of candy or anything daily."

"Fine!" Kaithey grumbled in annoyance, "And I'm eating Chocolate! You hear me! CHOCOLATE! Candy has nothing on it, that cheap imitation crap." she sneered. "Chocolate! That oh so creamy chocolate with the sweet melted insides that just melts in your mouth with every bite. That magnificent smell of cocoa beans. The magnificent aroma that travels up your nostrils and straight into your heart. Chocolate! That wonderful, perfect sugary substance that no one can ever get tired of. It's irreplaceable!" Kaithey drifted off into dreamland, swooning.

_Right..._

"Kaithey? Hey, you want talk, or do you need time to fantasize about your chocolates some more?" Yuki asked cautiously. It sounded as though she worked on a commercial advertising chocolate bars. ...oh, wait, maybe that was the job? Maybe they advertised chocolate bars?

"No, I'm fine." Kaithey replied, getting up from her dramatic slump, "Ask away."

"Um, so," Yuki started, "Genta thought we should get to know each other by telling each other about ourselves."

"I know." she said, "I  _was_ eavesdropping, you know."

The shorter boy blinked, "Right." he replied, "So, do you mind talking about yourself?" he asked hesitantly.

"Nah, too much effort."

Yuki's shoulders slumped, "Oh."

The girl continued, "Just ask what you want and I'll answer it."

Yuki nodded to himself at her answer. "Alright then," he thought of a few basic questions. "Umm, where are your parents?" At his releif that the girl wasn't snubbing him, he missed that slight tinge of  _hurt_  in her eyes when she thought back at about her past. If he hadn't, he would've understood why she was giving him simple, unenthusiastic one worded answers.

"Dead."

"How about siblings? I mean brothers and sisters? Did you have any?"

"Yes." Again with the one word answers.

"Where are they?"

"Dead too."

Yuki felt frustrated, but forged on nevertheless. "So, who's house is this?" Yuki continued regardless of the way she was acting. From the corner of his eye, Yuki could see Genta, her face blank. He didn't know what to make of it.

"Mine."

"How did your parents die? - that is, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Car crash."

"And your brother or sister?"

"Brother. Same." Finally, she started to talk in a sentence, "It was on the day I got stubborn and didn't want to go to the mall with them …" she drifted off.

Yuki paused, imagining how it would be like for him to lose everyone he loved in one day. It was horrible for them to ignore him, but to have them all die? Plus all at the same day?

"How old were you?" He asked, suddenly horrified for her.

"Ten." Kaithey said softly. Her eyes drifted into the past.

Genta interrupted Yuki before he could go on further. "If you continue like this, it 's going to go on 'til morning!" She said with a chuckle, almost seemed forced like she was only doing it to lighten the mood. It didn't work. "Why don't I give you a short version of the story?"

Yuki nodded. "That would be a great idea. I was running out of questions."

"All right then. Kaith, what do you say?"

"Sure." With that, she closed her eyes. The moment she opened them again, all sadness was gone. She started jumping out of the room. "See ya!"

Yuki studied Kaithey as she jumped up and down around the house. How much of her sudden mood changes came from acting, and how much of that was real?

Genta coughed, getting Yuki's attention once more. "All right then: as all good story starts, this is a 'Once upon a time' tale."

"Yay, story!" Kaithey's voice called from somewhere in the house.

"Anyways," Genta continued, "once upon a time, there lived a small little girl named Kaithey Blake. Kaithey lived with her mother, her father, and an extremely cute older brother. They were a happy family. All four of them were as sweet as can be. One bright, beautiful day, the two parents decided to go to the mall and go shopping before the summer was over. The older brother agreed right away, but little Kaithey was as stubborn as could be, and was able to convince her parent to let her stay home. Thankfully, that small family of four also had a maid who had taken care of the two children ever since they were babies. The maid agreed to look after Kaithey while they were shopping, and promised that nothing would happen to her."

"And the moral of the story: maid's are awesome!"

"Shush, Kaithey. Later that day, as Kaithey and her maid, Nina, were watching TV, they happened to come across live news coverage of a car crash not far from where they lived. As Nina turned the volume up higher, they soon realized that it was the Blake's family car! Nina and Kaithey were shocked at the news. At what seemed like eternity, the two soon got a call from the police reporting to them about the incident. As sad as they were, they had to accept the fact that the whole family was dead."

Genta looked up at Kaithey, waiting for a reaction. Kaithey just nodded back at her.

"Yup, that's what happened." Kaithery stated miserably. "Since I was only ten at the time, Nina took care of me. The house was mine according to the will my parents made, so we stayed here instead of Nina's house. Genta and I were friends since Kindergarten (or rather, her Grade Two class always came over to take care of us Kindergartners to learn 'responsibility'), so we're actually really close to each other. Two or three years after I was living with Nina, I found out that Genta was running away from home, so I invited her to live with me. Nina didn't mind much, since this was my house. Seeing as I had just turned seventeen not too long ago, Nina's living back at her own house, 'cause I'm pretty much an adult now. Of course, she drops in every now and then to check up on me."

"Nina's really nice."

"And that's the end of this short little story which has sort of a happy ending." Kaithery sang as she ended her story. "Don't worry, I'm over it now." She added as she saw Yuki's face, looking as though he would cry any minute.

"Anyways, Yuki," Genta started as she watched Kaithey skip out of the room wildly after spotting some chocolates on the kitchen counter. "This is Kaithey's house, but I'm sure she'll let you stay as long as you want. She seems to like you already, and she really likes to take care of her friends." Genta placed her empty cup of tea on the glass table in the living room. She had been drinking it while she was telling the story. "And if you work with us, that just gives us more of a reason to let you stay."

Yuki chuckled; why did it seem like she was trying to bribe him into accepting the job? "If you don't mind, could you tell me about that job now?"

"Of course I will," Genta was interrupted by Yuki's yawn.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just (yawn) sleepy."

Genta smiled. "How about I tell you about it tomorrow? You probably won't even remember a thing I say in the state you're in."

"Sure," yawned Yuki again. He really needed sleep.

"I'll lead you to your room, then."

When they got to Yugi's room, Genta told him 'goodnight' and he crawled into his bed.

"Genta," he called, "We just met, and you're like an older sister to me. Thank you."

"You're welcome." She answered quietly before closing the door. As the door shut with a silent slam, Genta sighed as Yuki's statement repeated in her head again.

She leaned against the door.

"An older sister, huh?" she muttered absentmindedly. "Maybe god's giving me another chance - wouldn't that just be the greatest?"

She closed her eyes.

"If only ..."


	5. You prefer Lucy or Shorty?

The first thing Yuki felt was the warmth of the sun on his face. He could imagine the sunlight burning holes in his eyelids, trying to get to his eyes. "Stupid sun, why does it have to rise so early?" Yuki willed his brain to start working. "How to get rid of the sunlight?" He froze at the thought. "Wait, what? Since when did the sun reach my bed?" His eyes snapped open. His heart leaped at the unfamiliar sight of the room.

_This wasn't his attic!_

The gears in his head whirled furiously, trying to remember what happened the day before. "Oh, right. Kaithey, Gin-no Genta, and the Barney song." It was amazing how some things stood out more than others.

He looked around, taking in the sight he missed yesterday.

The blinds were open in his new room, and the sunlight was leaking in. Beside the window was a poster of a slice of strawberry pie. The bed was directly in front of the window, and behind him was a desk, and some drawers. Basically, other than the furniture, the room was bare.

Yuki glared into the sun. "I must remember to shut the blinds before I sleep tomorrow." He concluded.

He sat up in the bed, fearing of going to meet the two again. They were nice people, yes, but it felt awkward to greet someone he had met for just a few days. Two days for Genta, and one day for Kaithey.

Besides, what if they regretted what they had done, and couldn't wait to kick him out? What if Kaithey decided that he wasn't worthy to be living in her house anymore now that she took a better look at him?

…what if they forgot about him already?!

His thoughts came to a halt as suddenly, loud yelling coming from downstairs echoed through the house. "WAKEY, WAKEY, BAKEY YOU SILLY, SILLY SLEEPYHEADS! WAKE UP OR YOU GET NO BREAKFAST!" The voice was in English, full blast.

Was that Kaithey?

"ARRGHH! SHUT THE HELL UP KAITHEY! SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE WAKING UP SO FUCKING EARLY! BESIDE, YOUR DEFINITION OF BREAKFAST CONSISTS OF EVERYTHING WITH DAMN SUGAR IN IT!" Genta yelled from the room left from Yugi.

Yup, that was Kaithey.

"SO WHAT? SUGAR IS GOOD FOR YOU! AT LEAST I'M NOT CRANKY LIKE YOU!"

She was met with silence. Perhaps Genta was back to sleep?

"YOU LISTENIN' TO ME?" Kaithey yelled once more.

There was more silence

"HALLO!? GEN, YOU THERE?"

There was a loud slam on the wall, causing Yuki to jump. Genta's voice drifted out of her room dangerously. "YES, I GET IT, SO  **SHUT THE HELL UP**!" It was practically a growl of a vicious beast.

Kaithey wasn't concerned though. "OKAY, JUST CHECK'N!" she yelled happily. Too happily, perhaps, for a second slam echoed through the house once more.

 

* * *

 

Minutes passed before Yuki came down the stairs. His adventure of locating the bathroom took longer than he had expected. Of course, he had found it eventually.

He went in the kitchen. "Good morning, Kaithey." Yuki said with a yawn. English was always an easy subject for him.

Kaithey did the unexpected. Neither did she laugh, smile, or even greet him. She just sat there, staring, hardly even blinking.

Yuki was unnerved. "Kaithey?"

Finally, she spoke. However, the sentence was not the desired question Yuki wished to hear.

"Who are you?"

This was, of course, what he dreaded the most. He was right; they had forgotten about him already!

What could only make it worse was if she managed to reason that perhaps he was a burglar or something just as bad.

The feeling was clearly shown on his face, for not a second later, Kaithey gave in, and told him she was just kidding.

She laughed, "Of course I remember! You're Yuti, or Yugi, or Yuki, Yusi, or Lucy. …or something that rhymes with those words." She giggled to herself. "Sushi!"

Yuki chuckle. This was the Kaithey he was used to. "I understand Yuti, and Yugi(he grimaced at how she managed to call him by his real name), and Yusi, but where did Lucy come from?"

"Hey, it rhymes with Yusi."

"But it's a girl's name."

"Yup, and I'm a girl!"

He didn't see where this was going. "But _I'm_  not a girl…"

"I know that!"

"So why am  _I_  called Lucy?"

Kaithey made a 'psh' sound disregarding him. "You're speaking nonsense, boy. Do you even listen to yourself?"

Yuki kept quiet, so she continued, "You really should think before you speak. I mean, just think of all the misunderstandings that'll happen. Today you could say something you never meant, then you'll suf-" she cut herself off and changed the subject suddenly, "Say, what do you want for breakfast?"

"What is there?" He decided to ignore the sudden change.

Kaithey grinned. "Weeeeeeeeellllllllll," she started, stretching out the sound, "we have chocolate bars, or extra chocolaty milk with chocolate choco cereal, or some chocolate or vanilla milkshake, or some candy, or just chocolate milk, or we could have a parfait, or… hmmm ice cream, or I have some cake, or…"

"Nevermind." Yuki cut in before she finished talking, "I'll have … um" everything sounded too sweet to eat in the morning, "What does Genta eat?"

She grimaced, "Toast with peanut-butter and grape jelly." Kaithey said while pretending to gag. "I really can't believe she eats that stuff for breakfast. The only thing that's good in that is the grape jelly. And it's actually whole-wheat bread!"

"I'll have that please." Yuki asked politely, hoping she wouldn't start ranting again.

"Sure … wait, WHAT?!" screamed Kaithey. "Are you sure? It can kill you! You mustn't try to be brave." She said amazed at him. "Just be yourself! Just because Genta can eat it doesn't mean it's safe for everyone! She's not normal!"

Yup, she started ranting again.

"I think I'll be fine, Kaithey." Yuki said, amazed at her definition of normal.

"I wish you luck Yuki." She said, and saluted him.

Yuki sighed. It wasn't like he was going to die anytime soon…

 

* * *

 

It was another hour or so later before Genta got up. When she got to the dining room, she found Yuki being asked thousands of questions by Kaithey about how he survived.

Genta smirked. "Let me guess. You ate something other than Kaithey's menu of breakfast, right?"

Yuki's eyes shot wide open with relief when he saw Genta. Faster than the eye could see, he was behind Genta hiding for his life.

Genta laughed, and then there was a slight glower in her eyes. "Kaithey." She said.

There must have been another meaning when she said that, for not a second later, Yuki found himself dragged in the kitchen with Kaithey.

She held a finger to her lips, signifying him to be quiet.

"Why?" Yuki whispered.

"She might seem fine now, but she'll get worse gradually." She whispered back.

"Wha?" he was confused.

"You do remember how she was like this morning, don't you?" she asked, rummaging through the cupboards

"Yeah…"

"She'll turn back like that soon." She looked at Yuki, "That is to say," she continued before Yuki could open his mouth to comment, "only if she does not get her morning coffee. One cup, black coffee, no sugar." She recited out. "Oh, and no shouting, and no overly smiling either."

She held up the cup of steaming coffee she had just finish making. "She's not a morning person at all. If possible, leave her until she finishes the cup." She peaked at the blue black haired girl brooding by the chair. "You'll thank me for this advice later, trust me."

With that she left towards what Yuki called Death, aka Morning Genta.

As she drank, both Yuki and Kaithey ran for their lives out of the kitchen and dining room. Genta was none the wiser, sitting there enjoying the coffee.

 

* * *

 

"Anyways," said Genta after breakfast, back to her normal self, "How are you surviving here?"

"Dreadful," he joked, "Kaithey tried to poison me with a super sweet breakfast already."

Genta laughed, "She does that often. Anything else to add?"

Yuki thought about it for a moment. "It's going fine, I suppose. Things are just unexpected, that's all." He said, not mentioning what things in specific.

"That's good. By the way, where's Kaithey?" She had found Yuki hiding in his room in order to escape from Morning Genta. Not that he had told her why he was there, of course

"I'm not sure." They had separated when they ran away from the kitchen. Yuki, knowing no where else other than the bed room, kitchen, and bathroom, had limited places to run to. Kaithey, on the other hand, could be anywhere in the house.

"Let's go find her."

They left for the kitchen in order for the search to start.

However, it was unneeded, as a scream suddenly filled the house.

"AAAAHHHHHHH! THE COMPUTER! IT'S ALIVE! GEN, LUCY, HELP ME! IT KEEPS SENDING ME A MESSAGE OF WHAT I'M DOING! ... AND IT'S RIGHT!"

There was trampling as Kaithey ran around the house.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! HELP! IT'S EVIL, AND WICKED, AND BAD, AND, AND, AND … WHATEVER WORD THERE IS LEFT!"

"Kaithey, Shut up! I'm trying to search for you, so if you don't be quiet, we'll leave you. Can't someone search for another without being interrupted! Yuki and I want to search for you in peace, thank you very much."

Yuki raised an eyebrow at her logic. Wouldn't it be better if they followed Kaithey's voice instead?

Kaithey, however, apparently understood her logic. "OKAY …" Or at least she did for just a minute. "BUT THE COMPUTER! IT'S GONE HAYWIRE! AND IT'S PSYCHIC! DON'T YOU CARE? I TOLD YOU TO NOT BUY A COPMPUTER! THEY'RE EVIL I TELL YOU, EVIL! BUT NOOOOO, YOU HAD TO BUY IT! WELL DON'T BLAME ME WHEN IT KILLS YOU! I TELL YOU, A COMPUTER KILLS MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER DISASTER! HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE MIGHT DIE FROM CAR CRASHES EVERYDAY, BUT I BET THOUSANDS DIE FROM COMPUTERS! HEELLLP! SOMEONE PLEASE! CALL 911, 999, 112, 311, 156, 157, 127, 144, 125, 132, 119, 110, 111!"

Just how many emergency numbers could she remember? She even managed to name Japan's emergency numbers!

Genta, however, was not as impressed as Yuki. "Kaithey, could you please just this once, SHUT UP! A computer does not have a mind of its own. It also can not move, thus can not kill anyone."

Yuki grinned. Finally someone notices the flaw in the logic.

"B-but! It keeps sending me a message of what I'm doing right now, and it's correct … !" her voice was quieter this time.

"Augh! Kaithey, when will you learn?" Genta yelled in annoyance.

She was cut off as Kaithey started yelling again. "GEN! IT'S PREDICTING AGAIN! IT SAYS YOU'LL DIE IN SEVEN DAYS IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN KILLER COMPUTERS!"

She ran towards Genta and Yuki in full force.

"Kaith…" Genta's voice was dangerous again.

Kaithey steered her course away from Genta. "Uh oh." She grabbed onto Yuki. "Come on Lucy, you don't want to die from Killer Computers, do you? It's best to get away from non-believers!" She carried Yuki far away from Genta.

Genta sighed. She needed coffee after this.

Sticking her head out of the kitchen window, she started shouting again. "MATTHEW! GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW! STOP MESSING WITH KAITHEY'S HEAD! AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, STOP MESSING WITH MY COMPUTER!"

Kaithey's voice spoke up again, far off behind her. "HEY! WHY IS YOUR COMPUTER MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY HEAD?! MY HEAD IS BETTER! MEANY!"

A black mob of hair stuck out from the bush under the window Genta was yelling from. He gave her a grin. "Yo, 'sup"

An identical head poked through a second bush. "What's up, m'lady?"

Genta groaned. They both were here, great.

Matthew had a laptop in his hands, and Antoino, the second head in the bush, had a pair of binoculars.

Matthew spoke up. "It was just a small joke! Beside we thought that Kaithey would be fine with this one! This is the third time we've played this joke on her." He spoke in his slightly accented voice.

Genta still growled at him. "Playing jokes on Kaithey is fine, but stop hacking into my computer! I've told you to keep out of it! I even put a password on it!"

They grinned, had a whispered conversation, then Matthew started typing on his computer once more.

Genta was suspicious. "What are you doing now?"

'Nothi'n of importance."

"Just addi'n pictures to yoru account."

"Porno pictures, mind you."

"Ones you can't delete."

"At least not wit'out my help."

Genta's eye twitch. "What did you say?! Pron!" She looked as if she wanted to jump out the window.

"Uh oh, away we go!" The two took off.

"Come back here, you perverts!"

 

* * *

 

If the two were to keep running around the house, eventually, they would have been caught by Genta, so they disregarded that choice. Instead, they jumped through a window around the bend.

… and landed on our sweet little Yuki.

"Sorr'i!" they both exclaimed at he same time.

Yuki stared at them. Oh great, he was seeing and hearing doubles.

Kaithey, who had been at the door looking out for Genta, came and joined them.

"Hey Hinto!"

The doubles waved.

"Kaithey, I think I'll lie down for a while. I'm seeing double of him." He pointed to the two. No, wait, one of them had a laptop on his back… the other didn't.

Kaithey shivered. Four Hintos... that was a scary thing.

"Dude, we're twins." Said the one on the right.

Right, he knew that…

"What are you two doin' in here anyways? Makin' out?" the other one asked.

Kaithey shook her head and pull them to the ground. "Don't tell them I told you," she whispered, "But apparently if you don't believe in Killer Computers, they'll kill you in seven days."

The twins gave an obviously fake gasp. "No, really!"

Kaithey nodded, not noticing how fake his gasp sounded. "Shh; confidential secret." She brightened up suddenly. "By the way, this is Lucy." She pointed to Yuki. "Lucy, this is Hinto and Hinto."

Before he had a chance to correct her, the two pinned him down.

"Hey Lucy, don't listen to her, my name's Matthew." said the one with the laptop.

"I'm Antonio." Said the other.

Yuki nodded. "Then you'll believe me when I say my name's not Lucy."

"Why?" asked Antonio.

"'Casue apparently it's her habit to make up names for people."

"Don't lie! Kaithey never lies!"

"If she says your name's Lucy, then your name's Lucy!"

"B-but-"

"Now, now, Shorty. Just because your name is girly doesn't mean you have to worry so much about it."

"Right Kaithey?"

"Right, Hinto."

"See, Kaithey never lies!" he said cheerily, "By the way, the names Matthew, not Hinto." He added.

Yuki frown, really, did logic not work in this place?

Pounding on the door interrupting their conversation.

"I'll get it!" Kaithey skipped happily to the door. "Hey, it's Gen!"

Genta glowered at the doorway. "What are you all doing in here?! Out, out, OUT! Right now! Double pace! OUT, OUT!"

Kaithey's lip trembled. "B-but we're having a party in here! See the drinks…" she pointed to the sink, "And the fancy seats…" she pointed to the toilet, "And the table now used as a gay bed…" she pointed to the bathtub where Yuki was laying with the pair of twins on top of him.

Genta pointed behind herself. "OUT ALL OF YOU! I don't approve of you playing in the bathroom. Some people in this house are still normal and use the washrooms normally. I don't need you lot contaminating them all."

"B-but…"

"OUT!" Genta lowered her voice as everyone grimace from her shout. "I need to go, and you're all in the way. Play in the one upstairs." She looked over at Yuki. "And you two, stop molesting Yuki!"

They left. Genta was sure scary today.

 

* * *

 

They didn't go to the washroom upstairs next. Instead, they played in the kitchen. That is if playing meant raiding the fridge.

The twin kept stuffing their faces with food and Kaithey ate chocolates from her mysterious stash hidden away somewhere. Yuki sighed. He felt so out of place here.

Finally, Genta came. She stared at the group. "Let's talk about business." To their incoherent responses, she carried on, "Yuki, You wanted to know about our job, right?"

Yuki nodded.

"Alright then," Genta continued, "We are a band called-" She gave a slight sigh, "A band called 'Pie', and we-"

Yuki cut in. "Why 'Pie'?" He was glad she was finally answering his question about her work, but honestly, did everything around here have to be crazy?

Kaithey answered. "Because it's tasty, and it sounds cool."

"And it's mathematical."

"A veeerrry long mathematical number." Added Antonio

"And it rhymes with why, die, bye, my, fly, and kai! Which, by the way, is the first three letters of my name."

"Can you guess who chose the name?" asked Genta, displeased.

It was simple. "Kaithey?"

Did she like rhyming words or what? First 'Lucy', now 'Pie'…

"Yup, and the other two agreed to the name right away. It must be second childhood for those three." She sighed. "Of course, then again, they never did leave childhood yet…"

The sentence earned three grins.

"And they're not afraid to admit it, apparently. Carrying on, Yuki, there are the four of us so far in the band. I'm guitar and background vocals, and Kaithey's bass and vocalist. Antonio's drums and background vocals, and Matthew sometimes play the electric keyboard. Other times, he's behind the scenes fiddling with all the machinery back there."

"So what do you need me for?"

"I was getting to that. Kaithey here's bad at multitasking, so she wants to be background vocals instead of vocalist(incase she makes mistakes) along with bass. Antonio says it's hard to be the background vocals due to having to moving so much to drum properly, and Matthew thinks that the band can't survive when there's only three members(the times when he works in the back). So the spot of vocalist is missing, you see. We've been trying to find a fifth member to take care of that position."

"So you want me to do it?"

"Yes. We're not a completely new band, though. We have one CD out already (not very popular yet, by the way)." She smiled. "There won't be too much pressure on you. That is unless people want you to sing Kaithey's old songs in a concert."

You call that no pressure?

Yuki shook his head "I'm sorry, there's no way I can do this. First of all, I know nothing about bands. Secondly, I really don't want anyone to recognize me. Thirdly, my singing's not that good."

Kaithey stuck her head by his face intimidating him. "If you don't I'll kick you out of the house." She said bluntly.

The twins spoke up. "We ac'tually agree with Shorty."

"What?!" but she wanted Lucy to join...

"We don't know how well he sings."

"I can't imagine anythin' from his squeaky lil' voice."

"Hey, it's not squeaky!"

"You've go't to prove it if it's not, Shorty."

Kaithey's eyes lit up. "I know!" she ran out of the room only to be back a moment later. "Here."

She handed a toy duck over to Matthew. The vibrant yellow of its body blinded them. "What is it?"

"My Ultra Ducky Quack Recorder! I recorded Lucy's voice when he sang for us."

Just how did he miss that vibrant recorder? He certainly didn't see it with her yesterday. Genta felt the same as he did.

As she pressed the play button, not Yuki's, but Kaithey's voice spilled out.

_Testing one, two, three! Kaithey here! Listen to me sing: Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little duck! Quaky goes the ducky duck and… Hey, Genta's coming! There's a moving triangle on a body beside her. Alright, let operation 'Record Everything and use it as Blackmail Later' begin!_

Genta sighed. _Kaithey…_

The conversation moved on and they heard the thud as Kaithey pounced on Yuki, Kaithey sing the Barney song, Yuki sing his song, and Kaithey being idiotic.

Yuki's face went red yet again.

"Well, Shorty, I've got to say that-"

"You should definitely not-"

"Not-"

"Never-"

"Not-"

"Certainly-"

"Not-"

"Not-"

"Not-"

"Yes-"

"Of course-"

"Not-"

"Nay-"

"Not-"

"Not join our band." It was like watching a high speed ping pong match.

Genta's brain scrambled to try and figure of their message. "The first 'not' was not, the second 'not' was 'not, not', meaning yes, the third was not a 'not' but a 'never', which still means 'not', meaning not, the fifth was 'not' meaning yes, the sixth was… how many 'not's were there? Was the sixth one a 'not' as well, or was that a 'certainly' ? Or did the 'Certainly' come later? When did the 'Yes' come in?" It was impossible to remember them all.

"Their final answer was yes." Kaithey answered Genta.

Genta raised an eyebrow at her. She hadn't even been closely listening to the converation! Genta was sure of it. Kaithey was fiddling with her recorder during their whole conversation, sulking that she forgot to get better blackmail information. How did she know?

Probably from her vast knowledge of useless facts, she concluded.

What other way was there?

Of course, none of that fazed Genta any more.

"So you'll join, right?" Genta gave Yuki a begging look. The twins accepted him already (or so says Kaithey. She was usually right, though).

The other three copied her look.

Yuki scratched his head. "Am I really that good?"

"YES!" the combined voice blew him away.

He gave in to that. Besides, he had to make money somehow. It was also good on his confidence, and allowed him some place to stay. He couldn't exactly let his friends down either…

He agreed to it.

"Excellent, now let's drink!" exclaimed Antonio. This earned him a slap from the only of-age drinker in the group. "What, I tho'ught it was a good idea…"

Genta changed the subject. "Has Kaithey introduced you to these two yet?" Yuki nodded. "Really…" She sounded skeptical. "Well, I think I'll do a better job of it.

"The one over there who wants to be an of-age drinker is Antonio. He just turned 18 not too long ago. He tells corny jokes that you wouldn't even call a joke ('cause they don't make sense). Only Kaithey thinks it's funny."

"They are!"

"Sure Kaithey, whatever. Matthew's the older twin. He's the more intelligent one, especially in electronics. He's a good hacker, but we really shouldn't tell that to anyone..."

"You go, Hinto!" Kaithey cried, attempting to give him a high-five.

She failed.

"Why does Kaithey call them Hinto?" The question never left him since the bathroom incident.

"It's our last name!" exclaimed one. Antonio, was it?

"We're Japanese, so 'course our last names are."

"That's also why these two chums here both know Japanese. We've force it on 'em."

"It's also fun to add Japanese words into songs."

"And since we're Japanese, it's kin'da obvious Matthew and Antonio are not our real names." He stuck his tounge out at Yuki.

"But we'll never-"

"Ever tell you what it really is,  _Yugi Mutou_."

Yuki's heart dropped at his mention of 'Yugi'. How the heck did they find out  _his real name_?!


	6. A look back

**Somewhere in Domino City:**

In a single word, Yami was more than happy to describe himself as stupid. Heck, he'd settle for disgraceful and dishonorable as well.

His actions were inexcusable.

Yugi was his abiou, his other half, his lighter half. They were two parts of a whole. Brothers who shared a soul. Yet how was it Yami never noticed any of Yugi's suffering until he took off?

Solomon had entrusted Yugi's care to him when he left for Egypt. And even without a promise to Solomon, Yami himself knew to take care of him; they were family, weren't they?

Yugi was the one to free him from the puzzle, the one who first accepted his presence, the one who trusted him every death-defying card game, the one who begged the hardest for Shadi to grant the spirits their own bodies. And ignoring Yugi, and getting caught up in the wonders of modern life was the way he repaid him.

It was an inexcusable behaviour, not only for him as family, but for him as Pharaoh as well.

He had spent years as a Pharaoh, taught to watch over his people, watch over their needs, to make sure their home was prosperous and somewhere people were willing to live.

It seemed like he forgot all his learnings. A self-centered Pharaoh was a shameful Pharaoh. And now he was paying the price.

Yugi was never coming back.

 _"You don't know how much you really care for someone, until they're gone,"_ so stated a commonly said quote. And how true that was, because Yami felt like his soul had been ripped apart. And maybe it  _had._

* * *

 

The four guilty friends had gone out to look for any clues the moment they'd read his note.

At the thought of it, Yami fingered the note absentmindedly. This was the only thing left of Yugi's. He had taken almost everything with him; his clothes, his money, his photos, his treasures…

Everything except for his deck of cards and his Millennium Puzzle, that is.

The deck was left carelessly on  _his_  desk. As if Yugi was telling him to play for him.

As if Yugi was saying he wouldn't ever use it again.

As if Yugi was saying that he wouldn't ever duel again.

And  _that_  was a drastic and definite statement if Yami ever saw any. Though the world didn't revolve around a simple card game, Yami's world did. And Yugi knew this.

Yami dropped his head into his hand.

The cards were placed on his desk as if Yugi was telling him he was cutting off Yami completely, and his first step was by leaving Yami's world. It was as simple as that, but he wouldn't – couldn't believe it.

...And then Joey found the Millennium Puzzle.

Half a day into Yugi's disappearance, Joey, who had been wandering around the main street found it on the ground by the sidewalk, called Yami, urging the Pharaoh to his location.

When Yami got there, Joey was still gathering pieces of the broken puzzle. The Millennium Puzzle obviously had been thrown into a puddle. Clumps of mud clung to it, and its previously golden sheen was scuffed dull. Never had Yami ever seen it in such a state. Sure it had been taken apart once (and Bakura even cursed a piece), but this was worse.

Because no matter what, Yami could not remove the thought that  _Yugi_  had done it this time.

And it hurt. Badly.

" _Why?"_  was his thought when he saw it

" _Why?_ " was still his thought.

But staring at the pieces of the puzzle as he slotted them back into place, trying to ignore the aching of his heart, Yami wondered if it was done to represent Yugi's own hurt. And if it was, did it mean Yugi was not willing to forgive them, ever?

* * *

 

Yami pulled out leftovers from the fridge and plopped it into microwave. He sat down at the dinner table, staring into the empty seats around him.

He hated this feeling of loneliness. For thousands of years, he's been trapped in that puzzle all alone, despising every moment of it.

How great it was when Yugi finally freed him, and even after, Yugi was always there with him – for him. And then accepting Yami as family and sharing his grandfather with him.

Yami shouldn't have taken anything for granted.

Now Yugi was gone. Everything Yugi owned that connected him with Yami was shoved back in his face. His deck, his puzzle -  _good riddance, Yami,_ it clearly said.

Yami hated goodbyes and good riddances because it was too final.

"I'm sorry," Yami whispered into the empty room. "Come back so we can get through this together." He made mistakes, and he was willing to admit it. So please give him another chance.


	7. Caught up in my lies

_But we'll never, ever tell yo_ _u what it really is,_ _**Yugi Mutou.** _

_Yugi Mutou!_

_**Yugi Mutou!** _

Yuki's head spun as the name echoed through his skull.

"Yugi Mutou? Hey, now, you two. What are you trying to pull? His name's Yuki, not Yugi." Genta cut in. "Where'd you get the Mutou from anyways?"

Dread filled Yuki face.

_How did they know? How did they find out? What should he do?_

Matthew raised an eyebrow at him. "Is it? Really?"

Yuki tugged at his shirt. What could he do?

"Yuki…?" Genta's face was etched with concern.

He really didn't want to loose their trust. He had to admit to it; what else could he do? Yuki's thoughts hurdled wildly in his head. He was getting dizzy and his face felt so hot.

He shouldn't have lied to them; look where that got him.

 _How stupid was he?_  If only he hadn't lied in the first place! If only, he told Genta the truth instead of making up a name.

 _How foolish was he?_  Of course there was no way he could escape from the truth!

Now they'll never, ever believe him ever again! How could he betray Genta, his friends like that?  _What was he thinking?_ He had to give the truth now. All he could do was wish and beg for forgiveness at this point.

He took in a breath.

"Ye-"

_Come on, Yuki, you can do it!_

"Yeah," he whispered out, finally, "that's me." He lowered his face. He couldn't face them anymore; not after having to tell them he lied. "I'm not Yuki. My name's really Yugi, Yugi Mutou"

There was a silence as the group stared at each other.

_This infuriating silence!_

The silence really didn't help at all, as the longer he sat there, the heavier his guilt felt. Yuki stood up and bowed. He couldn't take it any longer.

"I'm sorry. I'll leave now." What a stupid little boy he was, thinking he could life a normal life under a lie. He turned to leave, only to be stopped by a gripping hand. Genta's gripping hand, to be precise.

"You, stay." There was fury in her voice. An absolute turnabout in her emotions. Wasn't she just concerned a moment ago? But then again, who wouldn't be angry after hearing that someone you trusted enough to allow to stay at your house, lie about themselves?

Genta's hand tightened as she whipped her head around suddenly. "And you-"

_Wha_ _t? She was facing the wrong way…_

She advanced onto the twin, still gripping onto Yuki. "Did you guys hack into his files?" her growls grew louder, "MATTHEW, HOW COULD YOU? You could have at least  _waited_  until he wanted to SAY IT HIMSELF! You could have hinted to him gently!" It felt like she was being cross with the wrong person. He, Yugi, should have been the one she was yelling at, not the twins.  _What was going on here? The twins did nothing wrong._  "Do you two even know the meaning of  _PRIVACY_?"

Matthew held up his hand. "'kay, stop where you are, Harpy. I did NOT hack 'n'ta anythin' of his. I went where everyone could 'ave gone." He paused, "Beside, even  _I_  can't hack into someone's confidential files that easily, genius that I am."

_What was going on?_ _Weren't they suppose to be angry at him for lying?_

"It was quite obvious who Shorty was, actually."

_It was?_

"How c'n we not know the 'World Champ'on'?"

"Of bowling?"

Matthew pinched the bridge of his nose. "No Kaithey, not bowlin'; duellin'!"

"Like wizards and dragons and-" She was cut off.

"No, like cards."

"He's the world Champ'on of duellin'. Hell, there's several a websites about 'im! Hundreds of fans ones can be found everywhere! Everyone ought to know his face and that distinc'ive hairstyle of his by now!"

Genta looked away.

"Except you." He accused.

"And me!" Kaithey cried out, raising her hand energetically, "Don't forget me!"

"Yes, you too."

Yuki scratched his head. Damn, he had gotten so used to the title that he hadn't realized that people would recognize him from that.

"So, it was just a slip up that had caused me to call him Yugi." concluded Antonio.

Genta's fury was switch on once more. "'Slip up' MY ASS." She sounded like Morning Genta again. "You two have been calling him 'Shorty' since morning. What caused you to switch to his name?"

Yuki tugged at her arm. "It's fine, Genta; I don't mind you guys knowing. I'll be willing to leave if you don't want me here. You can yell at me all you want for lying to you guys…"

She jerked her arm away, and continued advancing on the twins. "An explanation, if you please?" she growled at them.

The twins had back onto the wall already, and looked as though they wanted to melt in as well. Anything to get away from Genta's fury.

"Well…?"

"GENTA CORALSMITH."

Genta head snapped up from Kaithey's usage of her full name. With a sigh, she rubbed her temples in a round motion as if soothing a headache. "Fine, do what you please." She turned away from them, clearly ashamed of their behaviour. "You two wanted to keep your names secret from him, so why couldn't you let Yuki here do the same? You could have at least gotten to know him more before accusing him. You could've gotten to know his situation first - why he felt the need to leave his past behind!"

She was right, and everyone knew it.

Matthew and Antonio bowed to Yuki. "We're really sorry."

"We just want'd to see how you would react. We weren't thinkin'-"

"-any furth'a than that. We did'n mean for this to happen-"

"We'll make it up to you."

"We'll tell you our names! How's that?"

_Well, h_ _e was curious, but…_

Yuki shook his head. "No, it's fine. I didn't even realize about the websites. I was practically begging to be found out."

He was just lucky that this group didn't mind very much about fake identities.

_Or did they...?_

A second thought entered his head.  _What if someone had set up missing post on the web?_

How idiotic he was to think he could run away from his life. Everything still caught up with him in the end.

No, wait. Yami was probably taking over his life now. No one would know, seeing as Yami would make the perfect substitute. He could die, and not one person would be the wiser. He didn't have a life and never did. It was all Yami's to begin with.

"Yuki -no, Yugi…" Genta snapped him out of his depressing thoughts.

"Yuki's fine."

Genta nodded. "Right, Yuki, why did you run away (if that really is the reason you're here, and you didn't lie about that fact)? From what I can tell, there's no reason for you to do so. Everyone apparently loves you."

Did it really seem that way?

Yuki gave a shrug. "Not really, no. The Yugi they love is the duellist. That's not me. That's Yami."

"Yami?"

Yuki's head shot up. Crap, he was too deep in the past and let something slip.

"Lucy has a split personality?"

_Close._

Genta looked at his widened eyes. "If you don't want to tell us yet, we won't prod."

Yuki inwardly chuckled at Genta's words. Keyword:  _yet_.

"No! –I mean," What did he mean? He wanted to tell them now, yet... "I-"

"Yuki, really, it's fine. You can tell us whenever you feel up to it."

"NO!" Yuki clear his voice, bringing it down from the loud 'no' he shouted out instinctively. "I mean, no. I want to tell you. I don't want to hide anything from any of you. I feel I can trust you. And besides, just look at all the things you've done for me in the past two days. If it weren't for you, I'd be sitting in an alley somewhere barely surviving. I'd be alone, starving, cold, wishing to be dead. I owe you guys a lot -a hella lot! Hell, you've even given me a job to survive on (if you still want me). You've brought my spirits up from all the crazy antics you do everyday. You've made me forget about my horrible life I left behind. And heck, you guys still trust me after finding out I've told you guys a lie about my life. If I can't trust you guys, then who can I trust? Especially considering all the reasons you've given me in just two days! No one's been this nice to me  _ever_. You deserve to know everything in my life."

There was a slight silence as the group digested the information in.

"That's one long speech… or rambling, whichever you want to call it. Now can you get to the point already?" Kaithey was blunt, wasn't she? Either way, she broke the tension building up in the silence, and Yuki was thankful for that.

"Fine, fine." Yuki took a deep breath. He could do this. "I-"

And so, Yuki spilled out the whole story. He left nothing out. He told about his life at the Game Shop, the solved puzzle, the surprise that came out of it, the bullies Tristen and Joey once were, and how they became friends, the duellists he battled, the other item holders, the history of the items, the different people he met, and how everyone betrayed him. He couldn't help it; everything spilled out. He didn't care how ridiculous it sounded. He didn't care about how hard to believe his story was. He didn't care if they branded him crazy for the rest of his life. He just felt they needed to know.

It all just came out. He wanted them to know  _everything_.

He just didn't want to lie to them anymore.

Not anymore, no. Not after all they had done for him.

 

* * *

 

"Well…" There was nothing she could say. For once, Kaithey was speechless. "Genta?" She looked at the older girl for guidance. What could she say?

She took over. "Yuki, thank you for telling us your whole story. Not many others could do the same; it needs courage." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your former friends were dim-wits. Even we can see how pathetic they were, and we've only known each other for two days." She paused. Did her speech seem too fake? She certainly could see what Yuki was talking about, but there really was nothing else to say about it. Other than asking questions about the supernatural events in his life, of course, but that would only cause a greater strain in their relationship with him thinking that they didn't believe him, not that she did -barely.

Yuki obviously understood her thoughts. "I don't have any proof, so it's natural you won't believe me. I'll try to get some -though that's easier said than done... I just don't want you to think I've lied to you. I don't want to lie to you again."

"No-"

"I'll leave until I'm able to find proof to back up my story. It's only expected that you don't want anything to do with me until you find out I'm not lying and that I'm not dangerous or anything. It's-"

"Yuki, no! Just listen to me. Can you just go -to your room, or where ever? I really don't want to talk about this right now. I need time to think this over! Please!" She sounded as though she was begging now. It dreaded Yuki to see her with such a face. "But don't leave us. Stay _in_  the house."

"Okay." He couldn't refuse Genta's wishes. "I'm sorry."

She closed her eyes and took a breath as she watched him leave the room.

_What **could**  she do?_

* * *

 

"So you believe Shorty?"

"No-maybe -oh, I don't know!" Genta forgot her anger at the twins in her confusion. She threw her hands up in the air. "How can any of that be real? Yet, why would Yuki need to lie about that stuff?"

_Magical items, reincarnations, evil spirits, dark magic, real duel monster, shadow games; who could believe that!_

"Oh, it's real." Kaithey cut in, still starting at Yuki's retreating back.

"What?"

"The stuff about the Millennium Items, or whatever he called them. It's true facts. They're also known as the Sennen Items. According to history, three thousand years ago, Egypt was under threat from invading armies. The current pharaoh, Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen, commanded-"

"Pharaoh Akhenamadaenda-wha?"

"Shush, Antonio."

"-commanded his brother Akhenaden to create seven magical items to protect them. What the pharaoh didn't know (but the brother did) was that it required ninety-nine human sacrifices. So Akhenaden slaughtered them and melted their bodies whole with the gold that was cast in the mystic rite that formed the items. The molten gold was used to make the seven items."

"That's gory."

"That's not all; then, the items were distributed among the high ranks of the Pharaoh's, with the Pharaoh himself obtaining the Sennen Pendent. With the power of the items, they summoned Ka (or duel monsters, whatever) to defeat the enemies.

"Eventually, Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen realized that ninety-nine sacrifices were made in order to create the items. To amend for that, he offered his soul to the Egyptian Gods to spare his son, Atem, from any punishments. Pharaoh Atem was given the Sennen Pendent when his father died. Of course, there were family problems; Akhenaden (the uncle) wanted his son, Priest Seto, to be a Pharaoh, so he got together with the sole survivor of the village slaughtered, Thief King Bakura, to defeat Atem, who then gather all the items to summon Zorc for his own desires (destroy the world, I mean). Pharaoh Atem, however, defeated Zorc, then sealed him along with all the dark magics into his Sennen Pendent (along with his soul). The Pendent shattered, and from then on was called the Sennen Puzzle, which was buried in the Valley of the Kings with Atem's body."

"Is that all?"

"As far as I know. It really matches up with Lucy's story, though"

"But how did you know all that?"

Kaithey gave a shrug. "I donno." Her eyes were still diverted towards the door Yugi left from. "The same way you end up on the weird side of Youtube - by clicking interesting looking links after links."

"And you remembered all that?" he asked bewildered.

Kaithey shrugged, "Eh, I thought it would be interesting trivial for boring days."

The boys shook their heads with a disbelieving chuckle before getting back to the matter on hand. "So either he's telling the truth, or he's just stating facts he learnt before." Antonio stated.

Genta growled at him, "No, really, what  _ever_  gave you that idea?" Yes, she was still mad at the twins.

She didn't know what to do; she wanted to believe Yuki, but his story was just a tad too absurd. At least now she knew there was some truth in it.

But how much?

She groaned out loud, "There's really nothing we can do unless we get proof, and that's going to be hard considering how he's trying his best to leave his past life behind in Japan!"

"So what can we do?" Kaithey asked.

"Oh, I don't know!" She cried, distressed. "We can only believe him, or not!"

"Hey, Genta,"

"What!" She yelled at the twin.

"Is there really any reason why we shouldn't believe him?"

"Excluding the fact that Shorty lied about his name, of course."

"Well…" she supposed not.

"If Shorty really is still lyin', how will that benefit 'im at all?"

_Maybe hiding a_ _n even worse past? Dangerous past? Evil past?  
_

"'sides, if Shorty really was dangerous, what c'n a guy his size (I mean really, look at him) do to ya girls?"

_That was true…_

"And we're not near a black belt in Karate for show, are we?"

_You never know with the twins...  
_

"And didn' he say he would try to get proof?"

_Could he, though?_

"He looked really guilty at lyin' 'bout his name alrea'y. I don' thin' his conscience would let him tell anoth'a lie."

_Yes, he did look genuinely concerned about how she would react to his name already. Another lie_ _would probably be too much for him to handle._

"Lucy's not a bad guy."

Genta smiled. "Why are you all on his side anyways?"

"We told you; we just wanted to get him flustered 'bout his name. We nev'a said we hated 'im. He seems like a good guy an' all."

"Kaithey?"

"I'm sure he's not lying; I can feel it." She looked up at Genta, "You ever get this feeling like Lucy's so completely innocent, that he's never done anything to hurt anyone at all -or at least tries not to as much as possible? He's practically radiant with innocence."

Genta nodded. That was the main reason why she offered help to Yuki in the first place.

"Well, technically, this is your house, Kaith, so you get the final say. I've also been outnumbered by you lot –not that I ever said I didn't approve of him, of course. ...so we're agreed?"

There was a collective nod.

"Great, I'll tell Yuki the news. You guys coming?"

They nodded again.

"Come on, then."

 

* * *

 

Genta knocked gingerly at the door. "Yuki?"

It creaked open slowly. Yuki's swollen eyes were a sure sign he'd been crying just before. Any doubt of him left their minds at the sight.

"Yuki, we really-" She got cut off.

"Really-"

"Really-"

"Really-"

"Kaithey, I thought we had twins, not triplets. You don't need to join in with what they do."

"Oh."

"Understand," Genta continued, regardless, "about what happened to you, and we trust you. I admit, you're story is a bit hard to take in, but we really do trust you. You have no reason to lie to us anymore."

"Of course," Kaithey added offhandedly, "If you have proof, then that'll help  _so_  much more."

Kaithey's silly antic at the beginning already helped him calm down. At her second comment, Yuki couldn't help but smile in relief.

The dread on his face slowly came off.

 _They really did believe him._  He wanted to deepen their trust.

"Don't worry; I promise I can get proof! Really, thanks guys for believing me. And for not getting mad at my lie."

Genta nodded. "Everyone has something they want to hide. Clearly you're no different than the rest of us. And quite frankly," she looked over at the twins, "Those two still haven't told us their real names yet even though we're known them for four years now. I highly doubt even Hinto really is their last names."

"But you're gettin' off topic, Genta" Matthew rushed in.

 _"Maybe I should have asked for their real names_ _."_  Yugi thought. But he highly doubted the offer still stood now.

"Thanks everyone, I mean it."

Kaithey's yell of "group hug!" was ignored by the group.

"Great," Antonio punched his hand in the air, "Let's party again, Shorty."

"No drinking!"

"I wasn't gon'na, really!"

"Like the other fifty times you said it?"

"Yeah!"

"If it weren't for me..."

Yes, he was glad he found these people. Genta was right on the plane; they  _were_  going to be great friends.

Slowly, but surely, he was getting his life back from Yami.


	8. A fake denial

**Somewhere in Domino City:**

 

The week started out fine. In fact, Kaiba was under the impression it was going to be a relaxing week when it started. His paperwork was finished and filed in advance. His technology had impressive reviews, as always. Stocks were going up.

It seemed like everything was going smoothly.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Who knew that just one simple, single event would piss him off strongly?

Kaiba knew he was a rather irritable person – a lot of thing ticked him off easily (just the mention of the Geek Squad was enough at times), but who knew a missing boy, who wasn't even his  _brother_ , could annoy him so much?

Of course, it might have had something to do with the fact that the Geek Squad  _did_  talk to him, but anyways.

Kaiba leaned back on his leather computer chair, stretching as he let out a long sigh.

The whole problem of this major mess was one tiny kid: Yugi Mutou.

Yugi Mutou was missing and nowhere to be found. Or rather, Kaiba wouldn't have bothered to care if he hadn't written something so uncharacteristic of him in his goodbye letter. It just wasn't like him. The other boy was eternally cheerful, optimistic, and unwavering. Kaiba had multiple duels with Yugi – enough to know how the boy's character was like under dire situations. 

" _I'm going away. To a different country or maybe to the other side of the world - you'll never know_ ". Sometimes Kaiba wondered if Yugi's 'friends' really wanted to find him. As little information as it gave, it clearly told them that Yugi wasn't in the city anymore. Yet, the idiots still pathetically searched around within hoping to bump into him. If it was any consolation, at least they were trying? Maybe?

Not that he'd been counting the days, but five had already passed since Yugi's departure. Sometimes Kaiba swore it seemed like a week or so. –No that he was worried enough for the stress to get to him, no. Of course not!

It only seemed like it had been a long time because of all the pestering he'd been receiving from the Loser club.

"Oh help us! Yugi's gone! You have to help us find him so we can apologize for ignoring and excluding him from everything we've done, and when we're done, we're going to forget the promise and it's going to happen all over again!"

Well, alright, maybe that was dramatized, and not exactly word-for-word, but Kaiba was very skillful at inferring. Kaiba had no patience for hypocrites. And hypocrites the Geek Squad was. He'd heard enough of their content spouting of friendship to all who would listen – not to mention thrown in his face – to know what they consisted of.

Somehow he doubted "no one will be left behind" was possible if Yugi is excluded from everything they did.

It was true that Kaiba didn't know what really happened. All he had was second hand information and an ability to read between the lines, but he'd seen plenty enough. The geeks didn't deserve his help.

Let it be a lesson to them. From what Kaiba saw, it was their own selfishness that brought this upon them. Everyone had their own agenda of needs and wants – everyone did what they selfishly wanted to – and Yugi was their scapegoat.

And a splendidly innocent scapegoat he was. The boy didn't fight back, didn't realize the problem wasn't with himself, but rather his so-called friends. He'd taken their complaints as fact and truth, never thinking they were unreasonable things. Yugi had taken their blame and built upon it until the point he was fully convinced every little thing was against him, and he finally cracked.

On the other hand, perhaps this was a good experience for Yugi – the boy was too naive for his own good.

To make Yugi go out to survive on his own, it wouldn't be surprising if he came back with an attitude. What would anyone expect; that's the only way he would be able to survive. Not that having his other half drive him out wouldn't contribute with it too.

Kaiba would be the last person to admit it, but yes, he did know all that magical nonsense, which he rolled his eyes at, were real. Kaiba was scientifically ruled, yes, but he was also not an idiot.

Yes he knew Yugi and Yami were two different sides of a soul. Yes he knew their insistences of a reincarnated Pharaoh was the truth. Yes there was such thing as shadow magic. Of course there was – Kaiba saw it with his own two eyes. It wasn't like they ever tried to actively hide it either (Seriously, no one else notices the height change and chilling black tendrils of magic?).

While Kaiba  _could_  tell them he believed in that crap, what merits would that bring? He didn't need brats running up to him to consult their magical problems with. That was why he insistently denied it – and amusingly enough, it seemed to annoy the Geek Squad too.

So yes, Kaiba would certainly not be surprised if this experience, isolated from his Yami (Yugi could no longer run to Yami for help once things got tough), would change Yugi. However, for better or for worse, only time would tell. He supposed it would depend on what crowd Yugi falls with wherever he is now.

Despite most people's insistent that Kaiba was an indifferent bastard, he really hoped for the best for Yugi.

The kid grew on him. Kaiba was more than aware of the things people said about him behind his back. Money – that was the only reason people tolerated him sometimes. But Yugi, since the first day they met, was never judgmental. In fact, he'd always considered him his friend and defended him and his actions, regardless of what others said.

Of the whole group of the Geeks, Kaiba knew Yugi was the only one who'd never bad mouthed him when they thought he wasn't listening (Wheeler, of course, was always the first one to insult him).

It was ... nice.

* * *

 

Kaiba had only just gotten up from his plush chair for a walk to loosen his limbs, when the phone on his work desk rang sharply, cutting through his thoughts.

He leaned in and picked up the phone immediately. "Kaiba. What's wrong now?" he said into the receiver.

It was Mokuba's voice that unexpectedly chirped cheerfully back.  _"Good news Big brother!"_

"What?"

_"You'd never guess what we found!"_

"To the point."

_"Okay, so I got the guys to look at the flights for Domino airport on the date Yugi left, and narrowed down the times between after school and a day or two after, like you told us to-"_

"Yes…" Frankly, Mokuba loved his long-winded answers.

_"-so we've been checking the satellite around those places for a while, and boom what do you think we found!"_

"Yugi Mutou," he answered, without a doubt in his mind.

_"Yep! In New York barely an hour from their international airport too. I wouldn't have guessed he'd gone there."_

"I highly doubt the destination was on his mind at the time, Mokuba." Kaiba tapped his fingers on his desk, running though his schedule across his mind. He supposed it wouldn't matter if he took the day off for some … hunting. "Prepare the jet, Mokuba."

_"Got it, Big Brother!"_

It seemed like there was brat out there who was going to be taught a lesson soon. That's what Yugi got for ruining his relaxing week with these shenanigans. If Mokuba was here, he'd say his brother was worried – but worried? Him? Kaiba never worried.

He was just … annoyed. Yeah, that sounded right. Annoyed.

He definitely wasn't going there to check if Yugi was doing well on his own.


	9. The meeting of extraterrestrials

Yuki laid on his bed in thought. Would you believe it had been nearly a week since his hastily decided escape to New York? If anyone had asked him a week ago, leaving Domino City would've been the last thing on his mind - and don't get him started on the idea of leaving Japan!

He felt such a – oh, what was the word - connection towards his new friends that he had never thought possible. Was this how true friends were supposed to be like?

A sighed escaped his lips as he thought back couple days ago. It was when he finally told his friends the truth about himself. It started out fine – alright, he lied; it started out horrible. No, they didn't yell at him, nor did they kick him out. They just listened to him, and in the end accepted his word for the truth. Oddly enough, he actually  _wanted_  them to get angry at him – was that weird? At least then he'd know what to do. He could handle being hated, being ignored, being belittled, being cursed at; that's how his life was like a week ago (and beyond).

Now? Right now, Yuki was confused as ever.

His story was as unrealistic as it could get, and what did they do? They accept his word right at that! You had to be there; not only did they spare him any accused looks, they (Genta specifically) comforted  _him_  and got mad at everyone else.

What was he suppose to do, ignore the guilty throbbing of his heart?

 _Even if_  there was a handbook for these types of situations, he highly doubted this specific case would be in it. These people  _enjoyed_  sauntering in the highly unlikely and illogical. Unlike them, his mind was not in-tuned with that.

His ever-so-logical mind – logical, but not necessary useful – gave him only  _one_  solution to relieve that heart-stabbing guilt. Just one, and that itself was hard, if not impossible to get.

Seriously, if you promised yourself you would cut off everything from your past life to start over, how would you obtain proof from it? Despite the good cause it was for.

There was no way he could show then anything! No pictures, no artifacts, no conformation from "friends", no nothing!

What could he do, mosey back to his grandpa's Gameshop to grab something? Just image what would happen if Yami was there!  _Oh, hi Yami. No I'm not back; just grabbing something I forgot. Oh, you want to bash my head in for leaving you all alone and not fulfilling that last request of dinner you wanted? Please don't, you don't really see me. This is just a projectile of my soul, or something; don't concern yourself about it. What are you talking about; Of course I'm not chickening out and returning home! Sure I'm home, but I'll be going soon. Yeah, I suppose this makes my note kinda useless now, doesn't it? Where was I hiding? No-where of importance … Hey, you can't stop me from going back; I liked it there! Hey, no, that doesn't give you more reason to hold me back!  
_

Great… What an interesting conversation  _that_  would be. And perhaps his overly imaginative mind was exaggerating things, but on the other hand, maybe he wasn't; Yuki would never know.

Yuki groaned and buried his head in his pillow. He should have brought the puzzle; that thing actually gave him slight shadow powers. If not for proving to his friends, it could have been useful for protection from the strange new county. Rah knows how a kid as small as him could survive by himself.

Yuki paused.  _Well_ _ **that**_ _was a thought._

Seriously, did he have  _anything_  for protection? He would have surely died on his own! He really did own Genta and the group a lot, didn't he?

Yuki chucked his pillow at the wall. Argh, that thought didn't help - that wasn't helping the pain! The more he thought, the greater the guilt became. He really owed the lot a lot, it seemed. And yet, he couldn't repay their kindness with something as simple as proof.

"S'well, the more the merrier _."_ Yuki hissed out absent-mindedly as his guilt increased, yet again with another memory of their compassion.

If he could have his way, Yuki would give them all the proof they could possibly want, but _how_  was the only question.

Yup, he was hopeless. Maybe he  _was_  a lost cause. Who could have guessed, Yami was actually right about something.

 

Yuki turned on his bed.

It was no use; he just couldn't sleep. His head was filled with too many thoughts, and his heart was drenched in too many emotions.

He couldn't forgive himself; it was taking too long! Maybe he was pessimistic, but obviously no one would be willing to wait forever for lil ol' him. The longer he took to confirm his words genuine, the less friendly they would be towards him throughout the wait.

Maybe he was over-reacting, but did it matter? He couldn't bear the thought of his new friends disappearing from his grasps, taking all his happy times with them. Five days worth may not seem to be a lot for some, but those five were the happiest days he could remember in his teenage life. No worry about saving the world, no pressure from duellists, no bullies, no fear for half insane evil maniacs, no hatred from so-called friends.

It had been a while since he'd felt this way.

So, alright, maybe he cherished them too much, more than how normal people would feel about losing friends, but was it –

_Fwoop_

\- really his fault they were the best things that happened to him? It broke his heart thinking there was a chance he would loose everything because of his own –

_FWOOP_

\- stupid mistake. Maybe he  _was_ weak, and maybe he  _did_  depend on others too much, but –

_**FWOOP** _

\- he was trying his best, and –

_**FWOOP … FWOOP** _

\- And what was that sound?!

_What the heck goes 'Fwoop' in the middle of the night? And please don't tell me it's Kaithey._

Yuki closed his eyes as he leaned by the window to listen more closely.

_**FWOOP … FWOOP … FWOOP** _

It was so familiar, but he just couldn't place a finger on it. So familiar, almost nostalgic in a way. … what was it?

 

* * *

 

Yuki skidded to a stop in the kitchen in his attempted to find out the source of the noise.

No, the disturbance wasn't coming from here, but instead, he found Kaithey with her ear pressed on the floor. Yuki bit his lip and gave her a nervous smile like he had for the last couple of days.

Kaithey, of course, just grinned at him. "Hey, Lu, you hear that too? You think what I'm thinking? We've finally got proof of radioactive altered rats under the house!"

"Oh?" His lips quirked involuntary. "But I think it's coming from outside."

"Really?" She went over to the window by the sink and nudged it open. The sound got louder. "Hey, what do you know?" Kaithey mimicked Yuki's action from upstairs by closing her eyes and leaning in to the sound. "I bet I know what this is! Finally too! Seriously, I was wondering how long it would take before aliens decide to invade us!"

" 'kay," he agreed, deciding he wasn't feeling up to pointing out the absurdness of that situation.

He watched as Kaithey suddenly dashed to the bottom of the stairs and back, sending the twins who were coming down back up.

"Hinto squared went to wake Genta up. She'd probably have the best idea as to how to deal with aliens."

"'Wake Genta up'," he parroted back to himself meekly, thinking of the brave task the twins had to accomplish. They were sure damn courageous to accept that mission.

Why were they still here anyways?

 

As descending footsteps filled the house, Yuki looked over towards the stairs. Genta, who was coming down behind the twins looked surprisingly fine despite being roused in the middle of the night.

"Kaithey, I do hope you're not behind that insufferable noise, or so help me god, you'll never see the light of day again. The second after I fall asleep I'm awaken by that noise, and a second later, I have two twins jumping on my bed like it's Christmas, shouting about incomprehensible things and alien landings."

"We've got extraterrestrials in our backyard! That's the sound of their ship landing!" Kaithey all but squealed in delight.

"I bet it's small and round," said a twin.

"The ship, I mean," finished the other, "you naugh'y, pervy people."

Genta raised an eyebrow, "I assure you, Antonio,  _you_  were the only one thinking perverted things." She glanced over at the laughing Kaithey, "And, perhaps Kai. And seriously, considering the noise it's making, it's got to be huge."

"No way, something small can be noisy too, you know. Like your hair-dryer, Genta, that thing's freaking LOUD!"

"No, Kai, if you didn't come flying to my door like a fly to honey, every time I turned it on, you wouldn't be able to hear it."

"Regardless of Genta's girly hair-dryin' needs," Matthew interrupted, "it coul' be alien te'nology they're usin'."

"Oh really now, Mat, but in case you've never heard, every place you look, people are saying that alien technology is more advanced than ours. And unless you're trying to prove thousands of people wrong, there is no way improved technology is noisier than old ones."

"'ey, they could be deaf, you kno'." He retorted back.

"Ohh; that's so true," Kaithey chimed, "I mean, I've never seen any pictures of aliens with ears!"

"Oh yeah, well – "

As the sound grew louder, indicating it was getting closer, their voices started to get drowned out. Even so, the four of them never stopped talking. Yuki, standing by the side watching them, was seriously wondering about their mental health. Would it not be better to  _go_  and  _see_ what the problem was instead of arguing about it? And since when were they such alien fanatics?

"Can we go and  _see_  the situation, now?" Yuki asked.

"Hey, great idea, Shorty; why didn' you thi'k of that, m'lady?"

"Because, twin number two," She snarled, "Whenever you open your mouth, everyone's intelligence level drops a pint."

"Cool, I'm like a pokemon! Hey, Matt'ew, use 'howl' to increase your attack power before you use 'talk' to lower eve'one's intell'gence level!"

"Can we just go?" Yuki interrupted, pointing at the back door.

 

* * *

 

As the ship, which Yuki now identified as Kaiba Corp's personal helicopter, with its large recognizable 'KC' logo on the side clearly shown, landed in Kaithey's backyard, he drew back, hoping Kaiba wouldn't be on it, and wouldn't drag him back to Domino City.

As the latch of the helicopter opened, Kaithey stepped forward to greet them, "Greetings, extraterrestrials, we are humanoids, and happy to comply with your every wish and command!"

The twins, who were surprisingly standing in the back, even behind him (were they afraid of aliens?), cried out, "Just no anal probes; I don't want to loose my virginity to a stick, alien technology or not."

"Choose the girls," the other yelled, "just not us! They've probably lost theirs to their tampons already."

Genta's eye visibly twitched, "If you two  _twits_  say another word, you'll wish you – "

"I'm sure," a voice cut in snidely, "you all enjoy discussing this on an everyday basis, but  _I_ 'd rather not hear it."

Yuki shrank back at the voice. Bland and monotonous – remind you of anyone?

"Kaiba."

"Mutou," Kaiba acknowledged with a nod, "Glad you haven't  _conveniently_  forgotten about me."

"Hey, it's tall, dark, mysterious, rich, and handsome!" Kaithey cheered, as Genta, the only one as tall as the man moved in front of the boys protectively.

"Kaith, I think the normal phrase is: 'tall, dark, and handsome.'"

She shrugged, "Yeah, but I'm just quoting the magazine I read. And I'll have you know, I omitted a lot of words already."

"You read magazines?!"

Kaiba stared at the two doing what he decided to label as 'a sad attempt at a two-person comedy routine'. In other words, it was a sad attempt at distracting him from the boys the tallest girl was trying to protect, while they tried to figure out his motives for being here.

But just because he figured out what they were doing didn't mean he had to play into it. Instead, he ignored the girls and focused on his goal.

"Look who we have here." He smiled predatorily at the quivering boy. "I have half a mind to pull you back for leaving me with that annoy Geek Squad and running away like a puppy with his tail between his legs."

Yuki's face flushed as Kaiba insulted him in English, purposely allowing his friends to understand the conversation as well. Of course, they also knew Japanese, but Kaiba didn't know that.

"You seriously think with that timid attitude of yours, the same thing won't happen again? Jumping in a new life won't solve anything if you don't change. If it were me, I'd force  _them_ away, but no, you had to give in like a coward and let someone take over  _your_  life."

"That's not –"

"Not true?" Kaiba snarled, "Right, because you  _didn't_ run away, and you  _didn't_ give up your old life to that Yami."

"I –" Kaiba was right. What could he say; he did run away like a weak-minded child after all.

"You what; deny your foolish behaviour and horrid judgment of people?"

Yuki looked away. What did Kaiba want from him? Rub it in his face that he was a wuss, pathetic, and stupid?

"I have just about enough of you bad-mouthing him!" Genta yelled, "I don't care what you think, but Yuki here's one of the kindest people I've ever met, and the hell with anyone who wants him to change!"

The twins shoved Yuki behind them, "We do'nt care if you're a mul'i-millionaire, Kaiba man, but that doesn't give you the rig't to diss our lil Shorty like that!"

"And this is my property, so I'll have to ask you to leave now. You've overstayed your welcome here. Just because you're rich doesn't mean I won't call the police on you." Kaithey glared at the man.

Mokuba, who was watching from the helicopter, flew out to his brother's defense. "Don't hurt Seto; he didn't mean it!" he yelled, in perfect English. What would you expect from the education of the brother of a multi-millionaire?

"Mokuba," Kaiba admonished.

"I'm sorry, big brother. But don't get mad at him," he continued towards the group, regardless of his brother's reprimand, "Big brother was worried for Yugi too! He spent a long time looking for him! He came here to make sure he was doing fine and not hurt all alone!"

Kaiba grabbed his brother by the collar of his yellow vest, "That's enough out of you, Mokuba." He ignored the smiles sprouting on the other's faces, "Do you attract freaks, Yugi? This crowd's just slightly less annoying than the last."

Yuki grinned. If he looked below the surface, he suppose this could be Kaiba's way of saying he trusted them more than his former friends.

"Slightly!?"

"Offended, are we? I'm so sorry." Kaiba sneered sarcastically at the much-too-colourful girl.

"Hell yes, who wouldn't be? I'm so angry I could die."

"Well I guess you'll have to cry yourself to sleep then. Better yet, might as well die and get it over with."

"I'm afraid you misunderstand, Mr Kaiba," Genta cut in, hitting Kaithey on the head to make her stop talking, "I'm quite certain Kaithey's not offended because you called her annoying, but rather 'slightly' annoying."

Kaiba eyed Kaithey distastefully, "You're saying she's offended because I don't think she's more annoying than the last batch of freak gathering? I sincerely hope you get that so-called brain of yours checked. Last I looked, the ability to annoy is not a useful career trait."

Kaithey gave a snort, "And here I am with a (kinda) stable career, and you're stuck with the task of finding stray rats."

"Rats … right," Kaiba muttered with an eyebrow raised, "I'm glad we see eye to eye about _one_  thing."

"So why  _are_  you here collecting rats, Mr Kaiba?" Genta asked. He was a multi-millionaire, for god's sake, and a world-wide famous one too, mind you. He could have easily hired someone to do the job for him.

"It's not my fault no one else is capable of finding a pesky vermin like this, and sp –"

"While," Yuki yelled over Kaiba's voice, "I'm glad you're all getting along and having fun calling me a rat, but do you really have to do it to my face? 'Yuki' works just as fine."

"Yuki?" Kaiba repeated.

"Yugi, I mean." It was one thing to give yourself a new name, but another for people you've known for a long time to know about it. Frankly, it was embarrassing.

"I like it, it fits you," Mokuba grinned, "Right, 'nii-san?"

Seto Kaiba's face, however, was impassive to all lookers. There was, however a twitch of a smile, but that might have been of Mokuba's sudden switch to Japanese to call him ''nii-san' instead of 'brother', which was honestly quite cute.

Inwardly, Kaiba actually agreed with Mokuba's outburst. 'Yugi', meaning 'game' didn't suit him at all. When one thought of games, duel monsters, being so popular in Japan, immediately came to mind. Yuki, now wanting nothing to do with that world, obviously needed something else. 'Yuki' fit him just fine. Not only similar to his original name, but also described his current predicament. He could easily imagine a blizzard of snow covering the view of Yuki's past, hiding it under layers of snowfall, frozen and forgotten in the white wonderland, with a new civilization built overtop of it.

"Now that I see you're alive and cheekier than ever, cutting me off and all, I'll take my leave. And you'd better hope that -" he paused to recall a name, "that Pharaoh doesn't piss me off, or I won't be held responsible even if I have to launch a nuclear missile to your dear Gameshop, whether he or your Grandfather is in there or not."

He spun on his heel to turn around, only to be stopped with a 'wait' from the oldest girl.

"Yes?"

"You're as good a source as any." She started, "Pharaoh, you say? You see, Yuki here's been trying to find proof for this spectacular story he told us about. Would you like to fill in that role?"

Did he? Well… "No, not really." He continued towards the copter.

"Oh, come on!" Kaithey yelled, "It'll take like two seconds, and like calm everyone's soul, especially Yuki, that fretter."

Kaiba growled, "Fine, if it's about that Shadow magic stuff and reincarnations and magical artifacts, then it's all true, but you didn't hear that from me. Seriously, that kid can't lie." He said, walking towards his helicopter, "come on, Mokuba."

With a wave from the side window from Mokuba, the ship took off back to Japan.

 

"Well that was fun and informational." Kaithey grinned.

Yuki smiled, a weight lifted from his shoulders. It seemed like he still had someone left after all. He'd always considered Kaiba as a friend, and for once, he had confirmation Kaiba felt the same way. Any other day Kaiba would be snubbing him, and now, with it possible, he did the opposite and took the time to find out where he was hiding instead. That guy was so illogical, and yet, probably one of his truest friends.

Yuki chuckled. Was illogicality a criteria they all required or something to become a friend?

Kaithey gathered the group in a group hug. "See, Lucy, you've got your proof!" She gave him a noogie, "Now stop acting so damn embarrassed in front of us; I miss my dissing target."

Genta gave Kaithey a glare and fixed Yuki's hair, "We sure were lucky to get a visit from Kaiba. Who would have guessed we would be in the presence of a multi-millionaire?"

Matthew snorted and Antonio feigned gagging. "Good god, we lef' Japan to get away f'om that guy, but no, he had to come 'ere too."

"Eh?" Yuki looked over to them, "What do you have against Kaiba?"

"Wit' him being so successful in Japan, there was no way we cou'd beat him."

The other twin took over, "We had to move to the good ol' USA to mak' sure our -"

Matthew cut him off, "- Band beat him, But fran'ly his inf'uence reaches here too."

"There's no way a band of ours in Japan can be successful wit' him in the pic'ure." Antonio finished.

"What? Don't you mean business corperation?" Yuki asked, bewildered. He was certain Kaiba didn't have a band. He was a businessman, not a singer or gutairst.

The twins dismissed the matter, "Same diff'ence."

"So this band was originally created in Japan?"

Genta shook her head, "No, we started it here. That was when we met the twins. They, despite what you would think, are band fanatics. Apperently it was their life's dream to be in a band."

"Good times, right Hinto?"

The twins grinned, "Yup,"

Kaithey sighed happily, reminiscing the past, "I remember it like it was yesterday …"

"Care to share, Kaithey?"

She gave a wide grin pointing to the house, "Prepare the cocoa, Gen, we're having story time in the living-room! Follow me!" She marched inside with the rest of them following behind.

As they settled in the couches with a hot mug in each of their hands, and bodies wrapped in fluffy blanket, Kaithey sighed giddily again.

"The story of how the band met," She began with a smirk, "Oh, what great times those were." She looked at Yuki directly in the eye, and switched to her story-telling tone, "It all began twenty years ago …"


	10. Twins are magical beings

" _It all began twenty years ago …"_

… Wait,  _twenty years_? How old was that girl again?

Genta caught Yuki's confusion and snorted, "Kai, none of us were even  _born_  twenty years ago."

Kaithey rolled her eyes, "Must you need to be so accurate?" Where was the fun in that? "Fine; geeze, you mood wrecker! You tell the story, then."

"Fine," she accepted, "For all I know, you'll start talking about talking piñatas or something," Genta shuddered. Why didn't she stop Kaithey from telling the story in the first place? Heck, why didn't  _anyone_  stop her; they should know better than that. "Anyways, it all began  _ **four**_  years ago…"

 

* * *

 

**FOUR YEARS AGO:**

"Hey Genta! Gen-Gen!"

"Yes?"

"You know what we should do, Gen?" A thirteen-year old girl asked, bouncing up and down beside her roommate of half-a-year, who was trying (unsuccessfully) to sunbathe fully clothed in the park.

Said roommates, two years older, sighed, "No, indulge me." Another crazy scheme, no doubt.

"We should start a band!"

Genta tugged her long black hair, the only evidence of her quarter Asian descendant, in frustration. A band … yes, she knew it; another crazy scheme.

"Is the school 'band-n-choir' not good enough for you?"

Kaithey gave her the 'DUH no' look, "It's a band and choir club stuck together because neither clubs could get enough members, what do you think?"

"I think you're being stupid. It's a singing and music playing club, which, quite frankly, is what a rock band is." At Kaithey's glare, she reluctantly added, "Even though it's actually larger than an actual band, and the people in the club suck, and I can't stand half the people participating…"

Kaithey gave her two thumbs up for the description, "Exactly. And in a rock band, we don't need to sing about pedophiliac, thieving snowmen. Or try to indulge ourselves in a cheap imitation of the Stone Age style of rocking."

"The music's not  _that_  bad," Genta muttered, before she remembered the constant squeaking of instruments, and off-tone pitch of the singers. "Nevertheless, what do you seriously think we can achieve with our limited sources?"

"We won't know if we never try," the other begged. I couldn't be  _that_  hard, I mean, there were cases where even voice-actors were able to sell albums using their character's voices to sing! Sure, the people who bought the CDs were probably hooked on the anime and bought like a thousand posters and action figures a day, and drooled in their sleep at even just the name of the show, and wrote thousands of fanfics about it, and tried to dress like them, and collected anything of the anime from colouring books to erasers, but at least they sold!

They sold!

"Okay, fine, say we  _do_  start a band, chew on this – how will it be successful if there's only two members – high school girls – and we both only play the guitar?"

"We can sing too, you know; it  _was_  a band-n-choir club after all." She pouted at Genta's unimpressed tone, "Beside, there always …" She paused for a dramatic effect and struck a pose, "Sex appeal!"

"Kaithey!"

Kaithey blew a raspberry, fixing her short spiky hair her friend flattened with a hit on her head. "Okay, okay; kidding! Geeze, girl, all we need is some guy to play the drums for us!"

"And how do you propose we do that? That's easier said than done." Genta said, rubbing her temples.

Yeah, they had the whole population to choose from, but who (except for herself because her instinctual sense-of-surrounding-danger was greatly dulled from contact with Kaithey for the last seven years) would be able to bear Kaithey for longer than an hour? She was dangerous.

"Ehh," Kaithey shrugged, "If all fails, we can always go back with sex appeal."

"What is with you and sex appeal?" Genta exclaimed, with her hand posed to hit the girl again.

Kaithey held her arms in a 'x' fashion protecting her hair, "Stop it with the hair flattening!"

"Hey, it's black and spiky, just screaming to be hit."

Kaithey glowered at the girl, "At least hit the un-gelled part!"

This received a snort in the face, "You mean that little purple part by the nape of your neck? No. It'll take too much time to aim, and by that time, you'd be spouting off on a tangent already."

Damn, she was getting predictable; she had to change it up again.

Kaithey pouted, "ANYWAYS," she said, hoping the yell of the word would overwrite any other thought in Genta's brain, "Back on topic."

"Fine; Kaithey, go and scourge the city for someone suitable for the band." Genta ordered, settling snuggly in the grass and closing her eyes, hoping Kaithey would be gone by the time she opened them again. Finally, she could get back to her original task at hand; sunbathing.

"What about you?"

Shoo, Kaithey, shoo.

"Hey, it was your idea; I'm not helping until I see that there's actually a chance of it working." She said flippantly. She cracked open an eyelid to glare at Kaithey before her attention was quickly drawn away by a passing cutie of a boy.

"Well I knew you were going to say that, so I took the time to think it over at home."

The older girl teared her vision away from the 'grade A boyfriend material' rather reluctantly, and gave her crazy counterpart a 'really now, now why couldn't you predict I would disagree with your proposal in the first place and spared me from the tale I'm actually trying overwrite with that man's ass I'm staring at there, not that I actually listened to you in the first place' stare.

Or at least that's what Kaithey thought it mean.

"And you know what I realized?" Kaithey continued, regardless.

"What, that building a band on your own is impossible?" The bored girl deadpanned.

That, of course, didn't deter Kaithey the least, "No, silly, I realized what we were missing!"

"Oh, you mean a drum player, a possible lead singer, a place to practice, equipment, a producer, a contract, a demo CD, a name – what else am I missing?" She shot back.

Kaithey dodged her stabbing speculations rather literally. Or maybe the ants in the grass finally got into the chocolate bar she stuffed into her back pocket. "No, not those!"

"Then what, pray tell?"

Her answer was simple, "Twins!"

Genta could feel her brain melting from the overexposure of the being of Kaithey. "Tw –" she desperately tried to grasp onto some intelligent reason for Kaithey's train of thoughts. Or rather, _clown train_  of thoughts. She got nothing. "Twins?"

"Duh; they'll solve everything."

Round two for her brain was just as helpless – if not worse - as round one. This time, it didn't have the 'please tell me I heard wrong' factor to filter it out. "You're saying if we have _twins_  in the band, we'll suddenly, miraculously solve our member-practice-equipment-producer-contract-demo-C D, problem?" Genta said incredulously.

"Like I said: 'Duh'."

"Kai –"

"No," she cut off the older girl, "I know what I'm talking about," she said, despite the fact she was two years younger, got worse grades, fell asleep in class often, and tended to spout nonsense, "Just think about it. Twins are magical! How else can two people look exactly the same, understand each other's thoughts, and still be an individual? Trust me on this one, Gen; twins will solve everything with their magical presence!"

"… right," Genta deadpanned, "Of course that has nothing to do with genetics or the fact the egg and sperm act in a different manner than usual." The second girl ignored her super-condensed educational lecture in favour for her watch, so Genta went on irritably, "Say you  _are_  right, for some mind-bending, unholy, logic-slaughtering, brain-frying, chocolate-eating, intellectual-poisoning, Beelzebub-spawning, cerebellum-corrosiving, insect-swarming, god-forsaken," She was desperately trying to get the inconceivability of the situation through to Kaithey, "reason, and that twins  _somehow_ will solve everything; how do you propose we force them into the band? It's not like they'll just start popping in front of us begging us to let them join."

She paused and crossed her fingers hoping it didn't happen. Logically, it shouldn't but with Kaithey here, anything was possible.

"With this!" Making her own sound effect, Kaithey pulled out today's edition of the newspaper from her magenta pink and emerald green stripped overalls with a flourished whip of her arm. "I've been placing an ad in here and online sites for awhile, see?"

Genta looked over the shorter girls shoulder.

_Interested in music? Want to play for a crowd? Dream of starting a band but have your friends shoot down the idea every second (cough Genta cough)? Then we're two of a kind! Come to the Central Park, furthest_ _to the south-east entrance where the fishies roam, and meet with us wannabes to try to make it to the high life! Seventh of the first double ones, at Lunch o'clock. Requirements: Twins. No guarantees to be successful, but hey, life's fun like that._

Genta stared at her name printed on the paper, along with the other confusing points dejectedly. "Please, Kaithey, next time leave all the writing to  _me_." Kaithey attempted to continue reading the rest of the ads printed upside-down as Genta snatched it from her, "While I'm at it, why are we meeting them in a park of all places? How will we test their abilities?"

"Mag –"

"Don't say 'magic'"

Kaithey attempted to change the word without seeming so, "Mag –" What started with 'mag'? "Mag-be I just wanted to see who they were first before testing them."

"Sure," she said succinctly, "Whatever you say."

**...**

 

They made their way to the chosen spot, arriving just barely earlier than appointed. Rather than look for the attendees, Genta merely glanced at the newspaper and snorted. She highly doubt many would make it anyways, with Kaithey's not-so-helpful direction, time, and date.

Of course, Genta's voiced complaint was simply met with a 'don't be silly' comment and forgotten due to Kaithey's short attention span and sudden obsession of finding fish in the nearby pond.

As lunch of the seventh of the double ones, or rather, 12:00 of July 11th, came, Genta stared at the lack of participants cursing at Kaithey's incompetence, before she thought better of it, remembering she never agreed on the shorter girl's plan to start a band in the first place, and inwardly celebrated the meager gathering.

Staring at the surprising turnout of twelve (six pairs of twin), Kaithey cracked her knuckles and gave an evil smile. "Welcome, my new minions,"

Genta sighed at the girl's choice of words. Was she really keen on forcing them all away?

"First order of business," The nodding ball of black spikes continued, "You two," she pointed to a pair of twins around 20-something in age, "Too old, bye!"

She repeated the procedure for the other for similar reasons including but not limited to: 'your fashion sense sucks', 'your orange hair clashes with my outfit', 'Dizygotic twins don't count!', you remind me of Genta's grandma', 'why're you crying?', and 'I don't' like all the black your twin's wearing … what do you mean the that's actually a shadow, Genta?'.

Genta slapped her hand over Kaithey's mouth before she could go on and successfully cast everyone away. She looked over at he last pair of twins still standing (or rather sitting on the grass), having efficiently ignored Kaithey when she told them they should go because they were 'too boring looking with their black hair, and no, their matching black shades didn't do it for them'.

"Hi." She said to them, decidedly ignorant as to what Kaithey wanted them to do in the _park_  of all places to prove themselves worthy. Drawing a blank, she proceeded to stare at the twins, hoping they would crack – or at least do something amusing.

Kaithey gave a crackle under Genta's clasped hand before pushing away, "Excellent, you've pas –"

Genta's palm reattached to her lips. "Not so hasty." She turned to the two, both staring at their actions, "So, introduce yourselves." She said, taking over, deciding she  _really_  didn't want to let Kaithey do things on her own.

One of the two grinned while the other tapped away on his laptop. "Wouldn't you like to know." He said teasingly.

"Yes, I would."

He glared at her blatant ignoring of his tone. "Fine!" he muttered a few choicy words to describe Genta under his breath. "Anywho, I'm … er …" he trailed off.

"Antony." Kaithey supplied helpfully.

"Er - Anto _nio_ ," he corrected after a thought, "an' he's –" he pointed to his twin and broke off, looking over at Kaithey for guidance.

"Matthew?" She suggested, yet again.

The other twin, now dubbed Matthew looked up, gave a nod, and went back to his typing.

"Matthew," Antonio confirmed, "an' we're here to join the band."

Genta's eye grew a twitch at the ludicrousness of the two – or three, if she included Kaithey, which, she decided after a moment's thought, she did.

"Your names?" she repeated herself.

"Antonio an' Ma'thew." He insisted.

Genta took a breath. "No, now let's try that again; your names?"

"Gen! Don't mess with the Tanakas!" Kaithey yelled.

"'Tanakas'?" Did she really want to know?

Kaithey rolled her eyes, "Well duh. If they're Japanesy-asians, then they should have Japanesy last names!"

_Because it would kil_ _l them if they gave their actual names, right Kaithey?_

Genta sighed at her absurd people naming needs. Where was that talent last night, when Kaithey woke her up to help name the sheep she was counting?

"That's too common and typical," The laptop bearing twin said, "I prefer 'Hinto', actually."

Now if only she could figure it whether he made it up or not.

Kaithey, on the other hand, thought about it quickly, "Hmm, works for me!" She dismissed.

Genta eyed the so-called Matthew's laptop, musing with the idea that he'd lent it to her to bash her head into. Or maybe, she'd borrow it under the guise of hitting her own head when actually, she would knock out all three idiots in front of her?

Yeah, she liked the second idea better. Now, if only Kaithey didn't have a third eye for these types of things and would stop looking at her like that. Seriously, was she broadcasting her thoughts or something?

Okay, I won't bash in your heads; stop staring at me like that!

"Setting that fact aside," Genta grimaced, giving her friend a glare, "What do you play?"

"My brother," he pointed at Matthew, "plays the guita' (poorly, very poorly), and ele'tric keyboard too, if you wan' that in your band. Fran'ly anything involving te'hnology, he's your man. Me –" he pointed to himself, "I pl'ay the drums, and damn sexy doing so."

Kaithey continued to bob her head, "Excellent." She cocked her head to the side, "Whose bright idea was it to have an audition in the middle of the park again? How will we test their skill?"

"Yours, I believe." Genta said mildly.

Where was Kaithey's brain when she pointed it out not even half an hour ago?

"Let's bring them to the school; the club room's still open for those 'hard-core' band-n-choir members getting ready for that stupid mid-summer performance. I'm sure they won't mind us barging in on them."

She shot down Kaithey's suggestion. "There's no way I'm bringing them to our school. I don't care that we won't get in trouble because Mr Teacher-in-charge gave the room key to his favourite pet student Ms Prissy-Clarissa to let the club in to practice, but frankly she hates us, and we hate her. Putting that aside, I don't need two stalking twin strangers knowing where I go to school."

"Don't flatter yourself … Genta, was it?"

"Genta Coralsmith, but what's it to you?" She bit back.

The other twin, the one diligently working on his laptop ever since the start of the interview, looked up after tapping a few more times, "Fran'ly, Lady, setting an aud'tion here means you live close-by, an' there really aren't a lot of high-schools here. The fact t'at girl," he pointed at Kaithey, seeing as she never mentioned her name even once, "said to bring us to the school cl'ubroom, I can eas'ly narrow it down to the closes' ones nearby – ones wi't a school mid-summer performance. Not to me'tion, you jus' gave us your name. Just by as'king 'round – or the schools dire'tly, I can find out like that." He said, snapping his fingers at the word 'that'.

This was why she hated people.

Genta used her height to her advantage to amplify her sneer at the boys, "Thank you for pointing that out," she snarled sarcastically, "Now why don't you two nitwits leave and start asking? And if you call me 'Lady' one more time, buster, I'll sack you."

He snorted at her words not at all amused at Genta's attempt to look intimating. "Right, I'm so sorry, m'lady," Antonio perked at the nickname, obviously finding it funny, "'Sides," Matthew continued, "as'king around isn' the only way to find sh't about people. Is'n that right, Genta Nuan Coralsmith of R.E. Lison Secondary. Ni'th grade, daughter of Gibson K. Coralsmith, and Mei L. Smith, nee Yu, living at -"

"Shut it." She snapped with her eyes ablaze with anger. "Kai, I refuse to work with these stalkers."

Yes, exactly why she hated people.

"Remember what I said?" Kaithey replied optimistically.

Genta hissed acidly, "Everything is  _not_  going to inexplicably come into place just because we have twins in the band."

"It will, besides, Mat's not stalking you, he just happened to hack into the school's student information page." She offered Genta as comfort, staring into the other boy's dark shade as she had been doing ever since the interview started. The glasses gave a perfect reflection of the screen Matthew was looking at.

And that fact didn't scare her why?

"As that may be," Genta pressed on, "and that may be all fine and dandy with you, but I _HATE_  these two. Put up another ad if you please, but they are officially cut from ever attending. If they show up again, I will personally phone the police."

"On what charge, m'lady?" asked the twins, listening in.

"Hacking."

"Can't be proved!" Antonio countered with a smug grin plastered on his face.

Genta blatantly ignore him. He gave a huff of annoyance. "Fine, two can play this game. You, other one – Kai, is it?"

"Kaithey." She supplied.

"Don't tell them your name!" Genta yelled in the background.

"Aw, don't worry, Gen! They'll never find out I'm Kaithey Michida Blake of R.E. Lison Secondary, who lives with Nina, and is the school-wide young adult's poetry writing contest second place winner last year, with one book overdue in the public library because I accidentally dropped it in the bathtub when I was reading it, and now I refuse to give it back because I don't want to pay the damage charges."

"No, never." Genta drawled disapprovingly.

Of course they'll never find out – just like they'll never know you're purple hair's actually dyed and not natural.

"It's trivial information," Kaithey said soothingly, "Who cares if anyone know, Gen? Give the twins a chance to show their skills."

The more mature girl's eyebrow rose as she realized Kaithey's sudden need to give the twins information on herself a way to comfort her.

"What skills?" she continued stubbornly, refusing to accept the two.

"Hey, m'lady, no jud'ging 'til you've heard!"

Kaithey obviously had faith in them, but was her judgment to be trusted? She  _was_  Kaithey, after all – not that she actually knew being 'Kaithey' was a good or bad thing.

"Fine." She said asperity, with her hands thrown up in defeat. "Just this once. Since you know where we go, you first. I don't trust you behind us."

"Hey, we're black belts; that doesn't deter a thing." Antonio teased, getting up to lead the way.

"Are you  _trying_  to make me force you to leave?"

"No, just maki'n you feel wary of us."

Kaithey wagged her finger at them from behind, "I wouldn't do that if I were you; Gen's got pepper spray on her."

Genta froze, "How did you know that?" She was certain she never shown it to Kaithey. Nor did she tell her that was why she refused to leave her alone with the boys.

No that she needed any help. Sure Kaithey constantly talked to stangers, but she scared them all off rather quickly on her own.

"They're legally sold." She said with a shrug, "You're the most cautious person I know, and you  _were_  going to live alone, if I hadn't offered my home to you before you set out."

Oh. Oh well. At least the twins knew not to mess with her now.

**...**

 

"So tell me again how you managed to get Clarissa to lend the clubroom to us – especially us," she pointed to Kaithey and herself, "of all people?"

"The power of twins."

"I  _so_  told you, Gen!" Kaithey cheered, glad her talk of magical twins was true. Not that the twins tried to discourage  _any_  theory of hers anyways during the walk to the school.

She was beginning to fear she would have to deal with Kaithey as well as two carbon-copies in the near future.

"Well, start playing," Genta said, gesturing to the instruments in front of them.

"Play what?"

She shrugged, "Anything, I suppose. We're just seeing your skills."

Matthew frowned, "How abou' you two?"

"What about us?"

"Are you going to play anything?"

Why would she; this wasn't her audition, it was theirs. She voiced her thoughts.

"Yeah," he retorted, "But what if you two sucked? I don't wan't to join a useless band. We – Our life dream has been to create and become a su'ccessful band. If you two hap'en to pull us down, I'd rat'er not join."

That seemed like a respectable dream. But why this band? There were so many more suitable people out there with as big of a dream as the boys than two measly girls. Sure the twins were in high school as well, a grade younger than Genta in fact, but if they truly had talent, they could find much better people.

Either way, the two girls were actually quite eager to hear their skills after realizing their goal in life. If that was their life's dream, they surely had to have talent in the area.

What was the best way to show off skills?

"Battle of the bands," Kaithey cheered, which was fine for them. They all like the sound of that. Of course, both not knowing any songs, or having music sheets on them, had to battle using the ear bleeding school music Kaithey hated ever so much.

Despite Kaithey's ferocious opposing, they eventually grabbed the boxes of scores to rummage through.

"Close you eyes and pick a random one." Genta ordered.

She did so, groaning out loud when she saw the title. "This," she shook the paper violently, "This is only  _one_  step up from those damn snowmen!" she shouted, referring to an earlier conversation with Genta. "Instead of pedophiliac, thieving snowmen, we now have hypocritical, conforming reindeers!"

Of course, that's what she got for pulling out the box of Christmas music sheets.

"So, how do we do this?" Matthew asked. It was easy to just play the notes on the paper, but how would that really prove anything?

"With mock enthusiasm hoping we can tone down the horror shivers the song invokes"

Genta shrugged; making things interesting was Kaithey's forte, but clearly she was no help right now. "How about we just make up a remix on the spot?"

Sure with them being twins, they could probably work together more efficiently, but … well, actually there was no 'but'. Maybe she just wanted to show Kaithey how horribly they could fail if they started a band on a whim. Or maybe she just wanted the twins to actually succeed their goal.

It was a life dream for the twins; she could appreciate that.

It was an 'O-em-gee, that maple tree looks like a freaking guitar – hey, that's a great idea! Let's start a band, Genta' dream for Kaithey; failing was a sure guarantee.

"Sounds coolio."

"You first then," Genta offered. She pointed idly at the grieving girl behind her sobbing apologies to the other boxes of music sheets for 'not reading their cardboardy sides and pulling out the sick, tainted, twisted box of corrupted scores by mistake. She'd learnt her lesson, so please music god help her out before the song devours her brain whole'. "I don't think she's mentally prepared to compete yet."

"Er -" Antonio looked hesitant to play, "If it really bothers her so much, I don't mind if we change the song … ?"

Kaithey was too busy lamenting to notice his offer, which was fine by the taller girl. "Keep it. Watching that girl suffer is my only amusement lately. She's been dealing with my obtrusive jeers with an irking flamboyant flippant attitude. It ruins my fun."

You'd think Kaithey was tweaking her manner to infuriate her to the fullest or something. She was sure Kaithey wasn't that bad before …

"Er – okay." The poor guy looked like he was having second thoughts in joining with the two in a band. Who wouldn't? "So we just change up the song while playing it?"

"Yup." Huh, with one of them on drums, that would be so much easier. Too bad Kaithey and her could only play the guitar. "Whenever you're ready."

The twins clearly knew how to work together. With a quick word shared between them, they started right away, no hesitation at all.

They certainly knew how to make the best of their two-men band. With one on drums, and one on the electric keyboard, they played the decided song in a techno beat.

Not a fan of techno music, Genta couldn't really tell if it was up to par with standards or not. It sounded good – or as good as you can get changing a children's Christmas song into techno – and they were definitely talented.

Kaithey, having snapped out of her stupor during the Hinto brother's mini-concert, was zealous to perform her own style to them.

"Come on, Gen, we can do so much better than that!"

_No_ _, we can't; we don't have to telepathic powers they have to make it sound so good without needing to discuss it. We'd probably start doing our own things and end up playing two different styles on top of each other and sound a mess._

She voiced her thought, and expected, was giving a 'psh, you're too serious' and a 'I can  _so_ develop telepathic powers too' added in an afterthought.

With a quick applaud as the twins finished, Kaithey shooed them off the "stage" and grabbed their guitars from the back. "Hook them up!"

With her guitar strapped around, Genta quickly flipped through the notes, idly wondering what would be an appropriate way to change it up, and how to get her ideas across the Kaithey in the middle of the song.

Kaithey, however, had no such thoughts. Rather, she gleefully hopped in place trying to exhaust her excitement before they started.

"Ready?" Genta asked. She'd seen Kaithey's endless energy first hand and enough to know there was a chance she would be hopping all day.

"Ready!" The hyper one confirmed, still jumping. "Let's go!"

"Wait –"

Too late; she started. "Just go with the flow." She whispered, "I'm singing!" She added, grabbing the mike she put in front of herself.

So that's why she set it up …

Randomly strumming a few strings softly in a rhythmic beat, she looked over at Kaithey hoping for some guidance.

Naturally, as expected, Kaithey just grinned. With a quick yell of "GO!" she started the intro of the song. She belted out the song, playing it in a couple keys lower than usual. As the reached the actual start of the song, she threw her voice up to shout every now and then.

She was playing in a rock beat.

Even though she realized, Genta had no idea how to follow Kaithey's lead. It was hard to make up stuff on the spot and still actually make the song recognizable. So, instead of following Kaithey's erratic fashion, Genta stuck to the original tune, playing a lower pitch to stay consistent with her partner, and adding in whenever she thought was necessary. It wouldn't help if Kaithey started to forget the original song and started playing randomly after all.

While in reality Genta really had no idea what she was doing, to the listeners, it sounded as though she was leading the song whilst Kaithey spiced it up, so it worked quite well.

As the song progress, Genta suddenly realized Kaithey didn't know the lyrics to the song; maybe just the gist of it. She should have realized with Kaithey immense hatred for Christmas songs, she never took the time to learn it.

Why did she volunteer to song then?

After cringing a couple times as Kaithey made up her own lyrics to atone for the unknown parts, Genta eventually realized this was actually for the better as the words were fit for rock and it was better than humming through half the song – or chanting Celtic summoning spells in tune, as she had done during their last school Christmas concert.

Thankfully the teacher stuck her in the back, knowing her odd tendencies. Plus, he learnt his lesson during the School Spirit Concert at the beginning of the year -that turned out real bad …

"- go down in HIS-TO-RIII!" Kaithey finished with a scream.

Antonio wolf whistled as Kaithey took an extravagant bow.

"Am I good or what?" She cheered.

Genta and Matthew behind her, shook their heads, putting away the equipment they took out. It wouldn't do if Clarissa tried to blame the two for any damages done.

"You girls were bett'a than I expe'ted."

Genta gave him a smile, "I'll take that as a compliment. Likewise, though, you guys were good."

This event was actually making her want to create a band, and seriously, she never thought she would agree with any of Kaithey's 'I do it because I'm awesome to the power of the number of freckles on my face (despite Genta's chiding of 'you  _have no_  freckles, Kaithey, and anything to the power of zero is one, so can't you just say "I do it because I'm awesome plan"')' plans. Ever.

"Can I ta'k it then we're in the band?" he inquired.

"Eh," Genta could only shrug helplessly, "You can never tell with Kaith."

And how right she was. When Matthew asked, Kaithey just started at him before asking how he would prove himself worthy.

"Wasn't the poin' of that," the gestured towards the equipment, telling her he was talking about the 'Battle of the Bands' they just did, "to show what we coul'd do?"

She twirled a stand of purple hair around her finger, "Huh; was it? No one told me."

"Wasn't it  _your_  idea to have a Battle of the Bands?"

She shrugged. "I though we were just playing for fun."

What difference did that make? "You still heard us, right? Can't you judge from that?"

"Nope," Kaithey shook her head sadly. "That's just not band-member-becoming-audition-material worthy. We need you to do something better."

If that wasn't, then what was?

When asked, Kaithey just shrugged again and gave them a 'let me think about it', before leafing through the music boxes absentmindedly.

Fun, she most likely would get side-tracked again.

Kaithey, however, despite what the group behind her thought she was doing, was actually in deep thought about how to evaluate the twins.

What was there for the twins to do? Something music related, maybe. It was a band audition after all.

Oh, maybe she could ask them to burn those sick, twisted music sheets so no one would need to sing them again! That would kill two birdies with one stone – or shoe, 'cause now that she thought about it, where would you get a stone to chuck at them? A shoe would be a definite better choice; handy too. On that note, who would want to kill a bird? Maybe the phrase was actually kill two beetles with one shoe. Everyone hated beetles, right? And that was actually possible – after all, name one person to hit two birds by chucking a rock of all things at them. No one could throw that high! Stomping was another matter. She inspected her shoe nodding thoughtfully.

"Told you." Genta droned wearily at the twins.

Kaithey waved her hand at them in a 'listen to me' manner, "I wasn't sidetracked!"

She turned back to the boxes. Where was she?

Oh, yes; those damn song. Maybe she could get the twins to rewrite them? Who was warped enough in the head to write them in the first place?

Grabbing out a random sheet, she glared at the title. Then, widened her eyes.

Hey, that gave her a great idea! Now to spread it to the world.

"Hey Genta! Gen! Gen-Gen!"

"Yes?"

"You know what we should do, Gen?" the thirteen-year old hopped in place excitedly.

"Pray tell what?"

"It's so painfully obvious, that I don't need explaining." She said cheerfully, "You," she pointed at a twin. "You … twin-man …"

Did she really forget his name?  _She_  was the one who gave it to them.

Genta offered her some help, hoping to speed up things, "His name end in the 'oh' sound."

Alright, maybe not speed things up, or else she would have told her his name right off the bat. Maybe she just wanted to test Kaithey's so-called mind and laugh at her if she managed to mangle it up. That's what good friends do, right?

Kaithey snapped her fingers in recollection of the name. "Of course!"

No duh; need I remind you again  _you_  were the one who gave them that alias?

"You, Hinto, let's settle this here and now."

Hinto?

"I'm sure he goes by Antonio, Kai." Genta corrected with a furrowed brow. How bad was her short-term memory?

"Don't be silly." She said in a no-nonsense voice, "It's Hinto – I should know."

… Really.

Antonio, now dubbed Hinto, rose up to Kaithey's challenge, completely ignoring her side conversation with Genta. "Name your game."

"No backing out."

"I don't inten' to."

"Good. Now show me a sign." She yelled dramatically.

A what? "Excuse me?" A sign to show he was listening ... or what?

Kaithey rolled her eyes like it was obvious. Maybe it was for her, but no one else. "Your hand; make a sign - signal with it."

"Er –" He opened his hands wide and gave it a wave like he was saying 'hello', feeling like this was the safest choice to make. What was the point of this?

"Hmmm …" She looked thoughtfully at him. Kaithey suddenly pointed at the other twin, "You –" She gave a pause. What was his name again? Genta's clue sounded in her mind. She ignored the fact it was for the first twin; a hint was a hint after all. "- Hinto, come here."

"Yes?" This was getting really confusing. Not only the game, but the name thing as well. If she called 'Hinto' again without pointing, which one should answer?

"Do you agree with his sign?"

Was there actually some way to judge it? "Er – yes?"

Kaithey growled, "Are you sure?"

She threw up her hands in defeat as Matthew, dubbed Hinto as well by Kaithey, nodded. "Fine; you win! You're in the band."

What was this all about?

When asked, her answer, expected by all three of them was: "Wasn't it obvious?". At the shake of their heads, she went on with an overdrawn sigh at how dense they were, "I was looking through the boxes, then I came across this," she pointed at the score she was holding titled ' _Jingle bell Rock'_ , "and then I thought 'if Hinto and Hinto can beat it, then we'll let them in the band as simple as that!'"

"Beat it?" A Hinto asked, confused.

Dawning washed over Genta, "Jingle bell  _Rock_. And you," she pointed at Antonio, "you waved at her with your hands wide open like  _Paper_ …"

Rock, Paper … Wait, what?

He felt the need to scream hysterically, "You mean I was playing  _Rock, Paper, Scissors_  for my future?"

"Well, wasn't that obvious?"

"No." he shot back at Kaithey. Who in their right mind would play a game to decide something so important?

She asked innocently, "What did you think we were doing?"

"Something intelligent." He glared at her, "For once." He added, under his breath.

Genta patted in on the shoulder, "Don't worry; you'll get used to it. Think of it this way; of all the hundreds of signs you could have made with your hand, you chose the  _only one_ that would let you into the band. Maybe it was meant to be."

"Or maybe my luck acted where it wasn't wanted."

Yeah, luck did have a way of appearing when you least expected it. Or, for Kaithey's case, never ending – who knew, the myth 'god looks after fools' was true. It sure proved her theory that Kaithey was a fool.

"That too."

He sighed, "Oh well, as long as you give me food to eat, I'm fine." He said, teasingly.

"Food's always stocked in my fridge." Kaithey grinned. She then tilted her head in thought, "Now that I think about it, we could probably practice in my basement. There's a lot of room there. It's just a storage room right now."

"Cool."

Genta nodded at her idea, slightly irked that they'd had to show the two where Kaithey's house was. At least Nina was always there, and she had her not-so-secret weapon on her. He looked at the twins and suddenly recalled Kaithey's words that morning. "While we're on this topic, Kai, it appears the truth in your words seem to be lacking."

"My words?" she scrunched up her face in thought. Genta hoped her long-term memory was better than her short-term. "Oh, you mean the magical-twins-will-bring-drum player-practice place-equipment-producer-contract-demo thing?" She managed to say in one quick breath.

"Yes."

Kaithey looked at the Hintos with hope in her eyes.  _Come on, magical twins; you can do it!_

Never one to disprove Kaithey's theories, they gave it their best shot.

"I'm a drum player!" Antonio volunteered.

"We've 'minded Kaithey that she had room in her bas'ment to pra'tice in, plus we both have our own equi'ment at home." Matthew added.

They gave each other a high-five, "Th'ree out of six requir'ments!"

"Oh wait; don't forget dear Jia'nyu!"

"Ah, yes," the other one nodded. He elaborated, "He told us that if we eve' find someone stupid enough to take our dreams of becom'ng one of the best bands ever se'iously, and we manage to scrape up enough decen' sound'ng songs, he'd be our producer person (out of pity, 'cause we don't have al life if we manage all that). He wasn't joking either."

"Is he reliable?" It would suck if this Jianyu person didn't know anything.

"He's worked for  _In the Fine Print._ " Matthew answered, naming a band. A rather decent band too.

Antonio gave a victory 'v' sign with his fingers. "And that's four out of six – five out of six if Jia'nyu likes our songs and gives us a contract. Actually, six out of six 'cause we need to make a demo CD in order for him to hear our songs."

Damn, Kaithey was right; they were completely covered now, now that they had the twins in their band.

Maybe she should start listening to her more often … Who knew; twins  _were_  magical.

 

* * *

 

**Present Time:**

"After that, we often had band practice in Kai's basement after lugging their equipment in, and in the end managed to please Jianyu with our music. He asked if we want to practice elsewhere, but we like it down there." Genta finished. "By the way, he should be coming around someday." She added in afterthought.

Putting that last point aside for the moment, Yuki sat on the couch shocked; that story was more normal than he thought it would be. I mean, Kaithey,  _Kaithey_ , was in the picture. Nothing was ordinary with her in it.

Picking up Yuki's thought process, Genta shrug and gave him her theory, "She's morphed to adapt to people around her's definite of ordinary, and proceeded to carry out the opposite."

"In other words, we don't want her around a lot of people?" he hazard.

"Exactly." Genta couldn't even start to imagine how Kaithey would be like if she succeed to master the skill of mass-annoyance. Damn, that girl could be a weapon of mass destruction (of sanity). She got so much worse after meeting  _two -_ just two! - people.

"Hey, don't talk like I'm not here!" Kaithey yelled from the background. From far, far in the background, ignored.

"I'm not background noise! Stop ignoring me!"

"Yes, yes." Genta dismissed, "Now, if that's all, I need sleep. God knows how early you're going to wake us up tomorrow –" she glanced at the clock on the wall, "- today." She gave Kaithey a withering glare before she headed back up the stairs.

Kaithey stuck her tongue out at her retreating back.

"Now that that annoyance is gone, Lucy, you can be honest; what do you think about the start of our band?"

Why could he not be honest with Genta around? But he did have a question …

"Frankly I can't see why you were so bent on recruiting the twins – I mean, Genta was so against it." Not that he wasn't thankfully the twins were accepted and they were able to start their band.

"Genta –" How to explain this, "Genta has trouble making friends. She has an 'I hate people' thing going on most of the time. It never occurred to you the fact that she's in college, yet she spends all her time with us high-schoolers instead of her colleagues?"

"I don't see you hanging around other people either." Yuki said, feeling the need to defend the older girl.

"It's not my fault," she said indifferently, "I'm not popular with the girls in my classes; they think I'm weird for some odd reason. You can see them slowly inching away from me sometimes. It brightens my day. As for Hinto and Hinto," she continued on, sparing Yuki from asking again, "they tend to disappear every now and then, right Hintos?"

He looked over at the twins sitting on the far end of the couch, leaning on each other, slightly glossy-eyed from the lack of sleep. They didn't react to their names.

"Anyways, they say yes." Kaithey replied for them. "Yes?" she looked over at the two. "Yes." She answered herself yet again when she was ignored.

"To wha – ?" The twins finally looked over and asked groggily, sliding over closer to them on the floor in an odd slug-like movement.

"Never mind," Yuki said with a shake of his head, "I'm just shocked you joined the band through a game of chance."

"Me too."

"Well actually," Yuki continued on, "I always thought you were in the same boat as … well, us; Kaithey, Genta, and I."

"Hmm … ?"

"Well you know, Kaithey's alone because of an unfortunate accident, Genta ran away from home for one reason or another, and I ran away too because everyone hated me …" Wasn't it only natural to think the twins had a similar ill-fated pasts?

"Nope, our lives have been wonderful." Matthew, or maybe Antonio – it was hard to tell without his trademark laptop in his hands - said with a grin.

"We're rich –"

"Popular –"

"Awesome –"

"Intelligent –"

"Loved –"

"Egotistical, annoying, bratty, a gormandizer, nerdy, selfish, insecure –"

"Hey, hey, hey!" A twin cut her off.

"Kaithey, what do you thi'k you're doing!"

She looked at them with a feigned angelic face plastered on, "What? I thought we were describing your qualities."

" _WE_  were; you're just spouting nonsense." He looked up, "Seriously, Shorty, ignore her."

With an exaggerated gasp at their tone, she turned away with a huff, "Come on, Lucy, we know when we're not wanted." She grabbed his arm and pulled him up with her.

"Actually, you're not; I –" he started mildly before stopping himself, seeing Kaithey ignore his words. Eh. "Okay, let's go." Why argue when he would never win? You can't be logical with someone who's not.

Yuki walked Kaithey to her room dully noting he'd never been in her room before - or even looked into it. He could only shiver as his thoughts gave him rather traumatizing ideas. No, he was  _never_  going to check.

"I'm glad the twins turned out to be nice people after all." He told Kaithey, glad she chose them for the band.

"Yeah," she said with a nod. Still, she looked slightly troubled, "Actually, we don't really know a lot about those two. But," she shrugged, "It's fine with me. I'm sure they'll tell us more someday." She pointed at Yuki, "What you said about thinking their life is bad, I actually think it's true."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they stay over here sometimes when there's really no reason to – they actually have a house to go back to. And sometimes, when they come over the practice, they'd look so pissed off about something, and actually beg to stay over for the night."

Yuki looked up, slightly shocked. He never expected the twins –so always playful – to have problems like that. "Family trouble?"

"Yeah … But it doesn't look that bad." She added quickly after seeing Yuki's distressed face, "Trust me, I would be able to tell if it's worse. …well, Genta would, but then I would know after that 'cause she'll tell me." She corrected, "'cause Genta's awesome like that."

"That's good." He was glad someone was taking care of the twins so well. He knew how it felt like when it seemed like there was no one around willing to help.

He – no one – liked that lonely feeling.

"And that's that." Kaithey added cheerfully at the end. "Now good-night! If I don't sleep today, I won't be able to get up today!" With that, she spun around a few times for no apparent reason at all – maybe she was trying to get Yuki to back away from her door – and rushed into her room.

"Good night."

Yuki went off to his own room and bed.

Would this count as living in a fairy tale life? There truly wasn't anyone kinder than these four who took him in without a second thought. And it seemed, they were the type who were kind to people, no matter the circumstances, and never quick to judge (kind of).

He easily fell asleep that night – er … morning, a smile played softly on his lips.


	11. When you're cute, nothing's illegal

New York; what can I say about it? Bustling with activity, the latest fad, jammed packed streets. I suppose that's why the scene before me seems quite expected.

What scene you ask?

Well - how to explain it? - it's a robbery in progress. Oh yes, what else would you call it when you see three people coming down the street with a bounded sack flung over their shoulders?

… or maybe it's a kidnapping?

…

What? What are you talking about; of course it's not a crime. How can it be when the two boys involved are  _so utterly cute_?

**...**

 

Matthew and Antonio gave a sneeze as they continued down the street.

"Catching a cold?" Kaithey, in front of them, asked.

The two boys standing directly behind her shook their heads. "Nah, some'ne must be talkin' 'bout us."

"Must be complimen'in our handsomeness." The other added, never breaking out of their synced walking pace.

Kaithey snorted but continued on. "My shoulders! The agony; the pain! They're so sore. What do we have in here; a potato?"

" _A_  potato weighs less than this."

The girl blushed, "I mean a sack of potatoes."

One of the boys shrugged, "Well, this  _is_  a potato sack, just sans tha potatoes."

"Weighs an elephant if ya ask me."

The bundle over his shoulder wiggled – well, actually, a bundle over all three of their shoulders wiggled.

Kaithery patted her section of the lug, "There, there," she consoled, "you weigh no more than my plate of food at an all-you-can-eat buffet."

"What's that plate made out of," Antonio wheezed, "Solid gold?"

Ignoring him, Kaithey patted her end as it struggled some more.

"Why do I have the most disobedient end?"

"I don't think he likes it when all the blood's rushing to his face."

"Why would that happen?"

"Have you considered our height difference?" Matthew asked, "That's why we volunteered to carry that end."

Kaithey scrunched up her face in thought, before dismissing it just as quickly. "Oh well, too late now." And with that, they continued their merry way, still on their matching pace.

In the potato sack, a tied up figure sighed exasperatedly.

* * *

 

"So, what can I do for you today, kids?" was the first thing the three –four- heard as Kaithey pushed open the door to her usual hair salon.

Kaithey grinned as gestured the man, her hairdresser, over. "My potato wants a hair dye job done, Steve." She whispered in a decidedly scheming voice.

The man, most likely not called Steve, patted her head consolingly, "If you've forgotten already, all you need to do is pull off the plastic hair of Mr. Potato-Head and reattach the one you want."

"Oh, really?" She nodded to the twins, "Come on Hinto, let's get cracking!" She untied the potato sack, and Yuki's tri-coloured hair popped out. "Let's go!"

A hand grasped the back of her shirt. "On second thought, let me that care of that potato, Kiddo." He plopped Yuki onto his chair.

"Hi?" Yuki shooked the hand offered to him.

"Hey, kid, I'm Sam. I hear you want to dye your hair." He looked carefully at Yuki's. "Oh, wow, this is natural, isn't it?" he asked, referring to the yellow-red-black spikes. Yuki nodded. "What do you want to do to them, then?"

Yuki gave a shifty, nervous look around the shop, "Umm…"

Something clicked in Sam's mind, "I see." He turned to Kaithey, "So, what do you have planned for this little one, seeing as you dragged him here by force."

"I was thinking green."

"Ah?"

"I'll make his purple eyes stand out." Kaithey continued, "What do you think, Steve?"

Sam nodded, "Maybe some sliver to highlight?" He suggested, "How's that?" Sam directed the question to Yuki.

"S-sure, I guess?" Green hair? The thought scared him, but Kaithey thought it was good, and so did Sam.

As Sam gathered his equipment for Yuki's hair, he looked over at Kaithey. "You booked an appointment for two people. I assume you need a change?"

Kaithey nodded, "Yeah, this," she pointed at her randomly coloured red-orange-yellow hair, "just doesn't make an impact anymore. I mean, Gen-Gen's eye doesn't even twitch anymore when she looks at me!"

Sam gave her an amused look. You'd think he was used to her and her antics by now. "And what do you have in mind this time?"

"You know what, maybe I'll keep half my head like this and dye the other side black with blond highlights or something, you know?"

Sam nodded distantly, "That'll be a sight to look at."

"Indeed," Matthew muttered.

"What about you two? Want to dye? It'll be a good way to tell you guys apart."

The boys shook their heads, "As we've said tha last five times we talked wi't you, we can't; a big no-no"

"Moth'er says she'll kill us if we do, 'cause we won' look profes'inal if we do that." Antonio added.

Kaithey rolled her eyes, "Tell Mother  _everyone_  in bands dye their hair. That's the way pros roll."

"Not pro fer the band." They corrected.

Kaithey panicked, "Wait, what, you have another job now? Since when? What kind of job needs you to look  _proper_! A host? A orchestral conductor? Alien greeting party? What have you been doing without me?"

Everyone including Sam ignored her. "Shame." the man said.

"Indeed, now wake me up when yo're done," Antonio yelled over, claiming magazines from the rack as his make-shift pillow. "That Beelzebub re'ncarnation of a girl woke us up four in the mornin' ta plan our kidnap'in. And let me tell you, that itself took no more tha' five minutes! We spent the rest of tha mornin' tryin' to find our hidden socks!"

"They were polka-dotted; I couldn't help myself." Kaithey whined.

* * *

 

Yuki ran his fingers through his hair. Green and silver. Who'd thought he'd actually dye his hair? He'd always hated it when people made a big deal about his tri-coloured hair, and now he'd willingly dyed it another odd shade.

Kaithey, walking beside him, grabbed his hair from behind. She shook out her now half red-orange-yellow, half black-blond hair from the temporary pony-tail she tied it.

"You know what, Yuki," She said, pulling down his hair, "I think you'll look better if you tied your hair down by the nape of your neck." She did so, and Yuki's look changed completely.

She gave him a thumbs up, as did the twins.

"You shou'd keep it that way, Shorty; suits you." The other nodded in agreement.

Yuki nodded. He imagined himself to look quite girlish if he had his hair tied, but if they liked it, then he would keep it this way. "So, what are we doing now?" Yuki asked, now that they finished their planned kidnapping adventure of him.

Antonio shrugged, "M'lady's still in her summer classes, and Kaithey here's only planned up to the hair salon. Wan'a practice back in the ol' basement?"

The thought of practicing with the band scared Yuki. "NO!" They looked over at him. "I mean, not yet." Yuki calmed himself, "Since we're out, why don't we walk some more?"

Yuki took a breath. What was wrong with him? He was in the band, so why was he against practicing? Did he think he could do it without practice? He could sing, but he wasn't  _that_ good. He didn't even know what songs he needed to know.

Matthew grabbed Kaithey and Yuki's arms, "Come on, guys, I've got a great idea where to go. It's like the most awesome place in the world,"

At Yuki's questioning look, Kaithey whispered "Electronic store" and Matthew pouted at his predictability.

At Matthew's Magical Heaven, or so he called it, he promptly disappeared from their view.

Yuki shook his head, "I swear, I just blinked, and he was gone."

Kaithey laughed, "He is one with the computers. If we didn't talk with him, he'd probably turn into a computer as well. Seriously though, I think I saw a picture of him on the computer when I was surfing the net a while ago. It winked at me! When I told Hinto, he just told me I was seeing things. THAT's how I know I wasn't. That guy's just trying to throw me off course. I knew Hinto was part computer, that's why I rarely touch those things." Kaithey wandered off to the opposite direction.

"Not going to find him?" Yuki asked.

The girl gave an involuntary shiver at the question, "I'm not even going to go near that place." She pulled her orange hoodie tighter to hide her face as she started to whisper, "So many cam-eyes. Don't stare straight into their black centers, Lucy. I tell you, they'll take your souls."

"Huh?"

Kaithey patted him on the head, "Don't worry too much about it, Lucy. The less you know, the less they'll harm you. Me, well, I know too much. They'll try and take me the first chance they'll get. But will I let them, NO! You'll never take me alive! NEVER!" She ran off to the music section leaving Yuki to stare at her retreating back.

"Okay then."

Yuki found Matthew and Antonio by the laptops, standing there as if waiting for him. "What's up?"

They looked behind him. "Aww, too bad; we wanted Kaithey to come here."

And for once, Yuki thought he realized why Kaithey was as crazy as she was. It was simple- it was the twin's faults. He quickly ran off, hoping he wouldn't become the next victim. Then again, maybe he'd actually understand them all a lot better if he actually was a bit crazy, eh? A little tug in his heart was felt when he suddenly realized that the twins were waiting for Kaithey, not him. Was he not fun to be around? Yuki sighed, where was Kaithey now? He needed some of her random antics to distract him.

" _-without a doubt, Seto Kaiba-…"_

Yuki whipped his head around, Kaiba, where? What was that guy still doing in New York? His heart thudded in his chest.

" _-still hold on to the top position in the technological corporations with his famed_ duel disks _with their real life hologram-like function. The-"_

Yuki stared at the TV. No, Kaiba wasn't here. Why was he still so damn jumpy though? Kaiba gave his approval, yet he a mere mention of him was able to make him jump out of his skin. What was the matter? He stared blankly at the screen.

" _\- second position, as always is held by Riku and Rikou Hiranttsu. They're good, but just not good enough. What's the matter boys? Always second place; you'll never get anywhere that way. Ye-"_

Yuki blinked.  _'You'll never get anywhere.'_  The words struck a cord in him. Voices sound in his head.

_Who are you trying to fool; you think you'll actually succeed?_

_You're going to pull the group down with you. You were born as a loser, and you'll always be one._

_You think something's going to change just because you try so hard? You'll never make it anywhere; just look at your past._

_Who do you think you are, thinking you actually have a talent? Don't kid yourself. They're only trying to amuse you._

_They're waiting for you to crash and burn. Once a failure, always a failure._

_Always._

So that was why; Yuki understood now. Kaiba was a business man. He could tell the good from the bad. Subconsciously, Yuki thought of himself as the 'bad.' He was afraid Kaiba would change his mind and come back, realizing what Yuki was, and throw him somewhere Yuki was relatively good at - being the loser of his old life.

He was afraid the Genta, Kaithey, and the twins would kick him out of their band if they heard him sing again. They'd realize that he wasn't up to their expectations once they listened to him again.

He was afraid he would loose everyone's approval, so he didn't argue with them. He let them dye his hair green, though he was scared to do so. He let them tie his hair down even though his mind told him he'd probably look like a girl that way.

He was afraid he would loose them. Loose his friends, the feeling of acceptance, the good life he had right now, the fairy tale life he stood in.

He was afraid; he was a coward, that's what he was.

"There you are, Lu! Quick, come with me; I've made an amazing discover!" Kaithey's voice brought him out of his misery. She looked over him as she dragged him away. "You look down, Lu-Lu." She gasped, "Did you look in to the web-cam eyes? I told you not to! Now the computer's probably already given it to their evil Hinto overlords to eat!" She pulled Yuki faster, "Thankfully I have the perfect remedy to that!" She slammed something over Yuki's head. Her voice was muffled as she told him, "Prepared to get blown away."

Instantly, music started playing. Yuki listened through the headphones at the familiar voice. "Is- is this you?"

Kaithey's face sprouted into a full grin, "Damn straight it is, Lu. Recognized my smexy voice, didn't you?"

Yuki laugh, "Nah, I just thought to myself that you would probably be the only one willing to sing about squirrels and decide to have it released."

"Too bad it's just the bonus track." Kaithey told him, "The others wouldn't let that be in it if it wasn't a bonus song. It was my masterpiece too!" Yuki laughed again, and Kaithey continued on, "I was scared to release a CD with my singing in it, actually. I mean, seriously, everyone's going to be judging me now." She shrugged, "But hey, I was vocals, so what could I do? So I just sucked it up and told myself, if no one else liked it, or said it sucked, then I'd just tell them it's my own style, and it wasn't my fault they were such conformists. You can't expect everyone to be the same, after all. Besides, the most different one will most likely stand out the most, and that's what we want, right? To make an impact."

Yuki nodded, yeah, that was right, wasn't it?

"So, want to go back and practice now that we're done shopping?"

Yuki thought it over. _You can't expect everyone to be the same. We want to make an impact... it's my style. Not my fault._  Yuki gathered his courage, "Sure, that sounds like a good idea."

The girl grinned, "Good, now let's find the Hintos and mosey back home."

* * *

 

It wasn't as bad as Yuki thought. They were right; the hair suited him better this way. As for the band thing… apparently practice meant coming up with new lyrics and reading over the band's old ones. The only time he sang was when Kaithey begged for a performance of what Yuki dubbed the "Freaky squirrel song." Which, mind you, was completely random and happy compared to the rest of the songs.

Seriously, if you want to sing about squirrels, then don't include lines about the "pretty purple toilet seat I saw back in Paris", or the "orange-coloured sky looks like Sally's back wrinkles." It just  _doesn't_  work that way.


	12. White and Black haired twins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that you know: The lyrics in this chapter and all future chapters will be written by me. So please drop a note on what you think about them.  
> Yes, I could've used other artists', but where is the fun in that? I like challenging myself. :)

 

 

Being pounced on halfway through lunch really wasn't Yuki's idea of fun, but Kaithey on the other hand, was laughing like an idiot at the scene. It really didn't help that they were on an airplane at the moment, and he was strapped on tight to the plane seat.

"Silly bean," Kaithey chirped happily at his dilemma, "The safety light turned off a while ago!" Yuki's hand, however, was restricted from pressing the release of the buckle due to the body on top of him. Antonio, sitting daintily on his lap, presented him with a laptop, seemingly oblivious to his position or Yuki's predicament.

Yuki took the laptop from him. "Err…" Yuki stared at it. "All hail the mighty overlord?" he tried. Seriously, what did they expect him to do with Matthew's laptop, cradle it lovingly?

Matthew, in the seat in front of him, slept soundly with headphones on, ignorant of his stolen electronic device.

"Close, but no," Antionio replied, "Try ag'in." Kaithey was no help either with her look of betrayal sent at Yuki's words.

Yuki tried again. "We…" The two beside him nodded at his words, encouraging him on, "take the laptop…" The nodding continued, "and … run…" the nodding continued, "off the plane with it without Matthew knowing?" Yuki finished.

With his lips pursed, Antonio shook his head again, "Closer, but still no cigar."

Yuki sighed; this was going to take a while. "Okay, how about," Yuki tried, "we take the laptop and run…" he stared at the two encouraging faces, grasping straw, "run naked around it in circles, praising the evil overlord?" he ended exasperatedly, combining his two previous ideas. They were both 'close' after all.

Antonio looked thoughtful, "Subsitute 'evil' for 'indispu'tably exceptional', you've got you'self a deal." He said, patting the laptop adoringly.

There was a pause.

"Right," Yuki replied, "You do that, then." he dismissed. Antonio's face smiled innocently at Yuki, and the younger boy felt shivers run down his spine. Before any diabolical stripping could occur, Genta threw a pen at Antonio. She stayed in her lax position, head on the windowpane, eyes in her book.

"Yuki, what have I told you about harassment from the twins?"

"Yell 'rape'?"

The older girl nodded and twirled her hair around her fingers idly. Brown hair. She dyed it not a week after noticing Yuki's change, and pouted at the fact that she was the only one in the world without a sudden dynamic change. The twins, apparently, were not part of her world. "Exactly, but for today, I think they just want you to type in that." She pointed, and Yuki made an 'oh' noise as he stared in the computer screen. Why didn't he think of that?

And how was this close?

* * *

_**YUKI's FIRST OVERSEAS GIG BLOG** _

_**Wednesday, February 23** _ _**rd** _

_So, my band mates decided that a great way to promote our band is to start a blog where each of us talks about the gigs we've done so far. Actually, they shoved the laptop in my face and expected me to know all this beforehand due to some Rah-forsaken reason. Thankfully,_ one _person in my band was smart enough to realize that I_ couldn't _(GASP) read minds, and explained it to me._

_So, let me first tell you I'm currently typing his blog on the plane! Yup, you heard right, the plane! We're having our first overseas concert! YAY! Okay, well, maybe we're just the guest - the opening act for the main band - but hey, a gig's a gig, right? I would like to thank the producer/manager and his connection and big heart for our band for this chance. …okay, now it just sounds like I'm giving an acceptance speech for a grand prize or something, so I'll stop taking about that._

_Well, I was going to stop it there, but then Antonio (or maybe he's actually Matthew, cause I'm sure I saw him FONDLING the laptop when I looked away, and no one's as crazy for this laptop as Matthew is) shoved the laptop back into my face and told me I needed a longer entry since it's my first one. Since I have no idea what else I should say, why don't I give you some insight on the last few months I had since I joined 'PIE'?_

_For two months straight, they locked me in my room and made me come up with ridiculous amount of lyrics. They're sadist! When I was stuck, they told me they wouldn't give me food for the week, then came back an hour later with pasta and told me to use what I felt at that time as inspiration. So don't you dare laugh at me when you hear a song about my angst of sailing a bread boat over a sea of chicken soup in an attempt to locate the sacred meatball only to have a chocolate covered crow melt over it before my eyes. Everyone knows chocolate meatballs taste bad. And yes, I was so hungry that I could only think about food._

_Okay, fine, you won't hear that song. Genta made me change the lyrics for that. But the angst, it stays true._

_After those torturous months, we got onto practicing. …well, fine, I admit, I lied. I didn't come up with ALL the lyrics; everyone helped. I'm not a miracle worker, and coming up with lyrics is hard work. But anyways, months and months afterwards, we practiced hard getting the tunes right and other stuff down to the point where we could do it in our sleep._

_Since I was new and all, and for some reason they all seem to promote 'torment the new-kid', I was forced to memorize all the new AND old songs. …hmmm, that line doesn't sound as horrible as it did in my mind. ANYWAYS…_

_We did a couple or so basement gigs along the way, and volunteered to play during some of the summer and winter events occurring around the city/community. There were some slightly bigger gigs as well, but nothing too fancy. Between all that, we actually produced PIE's second album, "PIE: Please Invite Extraterrestrials". I still don't get that title. I understand we're keeping the acrostic style theme, since the first CD was called, "PIE: Paper Injures Elephants", but seriously, what is it supposed to MEAN?_

_After killing a couple brain cells trying to figure that out, I gave up and just went with the flow. Well, actually, I seem to do that too often lately. Who can blame me; if I don't my brain will overheat because LOGIC DOESN'T EXIST HERE! Once I got over that little hitch, it was smooth sailing for me. Things actually make sense to me now! …I think. On the bright side, I'm now immune to anything weird._

_On the down side, I think I might actually be loosing my sanity. Cuz really, if someone shoves a laptop in your face, and your first thoughts aren't to check it out BEFORE making wild assumption, you just might be slightly loosing it. Just slightly._

_Oh, by the way, did I mention this plane's headed for England?_

_Yuki out!_

* * *

 

So, running out of the hotel along with the twins might not've been his most brilliant idea. At least he was safe… maybe.

It was a dreary day. The sun was out, yet hidden by rows after rows of thick grey clouds. The shade kept the morning dew present even as it neared afternoon.

"You've eva been here befor', Shorty?"

Yuki, dubbed Shorty by the two Japanese twins, shook his head, "No, never. I've only been around Japan, and New York." He shook his green, sliver-streaked hair again. This time, he merely did so to admire it. What seemed like just a week ago, but was really months more, the band convinced him to dye his hair. As if his natural red-purple-blond hair wasn't crazy enough, they choose green of all colours.

Seriously,  _green_! The twins took to calling him 'Booger' for a while before Genta threaten to shave them both bald.

Maybe it was due to this slowly growing sadistic streak of Genta that forced the three of them to run out of the hotel from the older girl.

Genta's 'Cautious mode' was more frightening than her 'Morning mode'. Honestly, maybe somewhere in her supposedly more logical mind she thought she was doing them a favour, but  _no one_ needed that much safety precaution stuff _._  Genta was a overprotective freak sometimes.

Having successfully escaped Genta's initial attempt in New York to pin name tags and a "if you see me alone, dial xxx-xxx-xxxx and send me to the nearest police station" tag on them, they thought they were safe. And this was AFTER they convinced her that making everyone wear matching hot pink jacket and beanies really wouldn't make it easier for her to keep track of them in the airport. Back at the hotel, after sending their equipment off, she approached them again. This time, she wanted to tape a map on their stomachs and etch their hotel address and number on the back of their arms with a sharpie. Never mind the fact that she already filled their pockets full of the hotel's business cards and listed over four relevant phone numbers on them back for them.

So, the three of them did what any sane person would; they threw a plane-sick Kaithey at her as bait, and took the opportunity to jump out the nearest exit - windows not included. -or rather, it WAS before Yuki realized they were four stories up, and had to grab the back of Antonio's neck to drag him away. No, Antonio wasn't suicidal. He unzipped his jacket and wanted to test it out as an improvised parachute, he said.

Yuki listened to the twins blabber on, tuning them out, as they zipped around the street. The two acted like rather embarrassing tourist despite claiming that they've been to England plenty of times. They insisted to pose in front over each and every landmark or 'totally awesome England-worthy' structures (in their own words). The fact that none of them remembered to bring a camera didn't deter the twins, no! They just HAD to pose.

"Okay guys, off the garbage bin," Yuki sighed, pulling them down. Did he even want to know what they were doing there?

They pouted at him, "It's 'n awesome England garbage can!"

"Ya can't say no to it."

Yuki shook his head, "Yes it can. It's the exact same as the ones we have at home."

"But it's in ENGLAND!" Antonio insisted.

"Gee, I didn't notice." Yuki muttered dryly.

"Exactly, dude. Now lets all awe at its sleekness." They rushed to scramble back on to pose.

"Not so fast." Yuki reached over to grab their arms again, "I might have overlooked the fire hydrant, the car, the cat sleeping in the tree, the tourist, and the freaking banana you bought from the grocers yourself,"

"ENGLAND banana" Matthew reminded.

Yuki ignored him, "But posing with a garbage can is where I draw the line. ESPECIALLY because one pose session always lasts twenty minutes." Watching them pose with a banana for twenty minutes was torture enough. Especially when the twins decided it was so great that they needed to add ten minutes more.

Their ebony eyes widened, "But-"

"-what about it's awesome England-ness?" they spoke in turn.

Yuki sighed, thinking idly how maybe he should've just stayed back in the hotel, "That's where I draw the ENGLAND line." He offered.

"Well, when you put it  _that_ way …" they said.

"Because that  _really_  makes a difference," the short green-haired boy mused to himself, "Next thing I know, just because  _I'm_  in England, I'll suddenly be more special as well."

Identical gleams shone in the twin's eyes. "Oh no you don't" Yuki exclaimed, backing up with a gulp. They advanced on him, "Stay - _oof_ " With his eyes glued on the twins, the poor boy tripped on someone behind him. "I'm sorry!"

"That's quite alright; it wasn't your fault." A British voice towards his right assured, helping him up.

Before Yuki to look over to thank the speaker, a sadistic crackling from his left side suddenly caught his attention. A  _very familiar_  crackle. Yuki looked up, assaulted with the sight of cascading of white hair swept around a pale face and auburn eyes. Yuki froze. "Bakura?" The Tomb Robber's eyes narrowed down on him in confirmation. The other albino, no doubt Ryou, was lecturing the twins about bullying younger kids. Matthew and Antonio had the decency to look ashamed. Or maybe they were just trying not to gap at the boy's snowy white hair. "Ryou."

The British boy stopped mid lecture and looked over, studying him. His eyes widened as realization struck. "Yu-Yugi?" At his nod, Ryou continued, "What are you doing here?"

Matthew and Antonio came up behind him and wrapped their arms over Yuki's shoulders protectively. "Friends of yours, Shorty?" A pair of white-haired twins looked curiously at him from in front, and a pair of black-haired twins looked protectively at him from behind.

"Er, yes." Yuki nodded. "Matthew and Antonio Hinto, meet Ryou and Bakura … Bakura," he ended lamely.

They chose not to comment on the name. "Nice to meet you."

A "likewise" was giving from Ryou, and a raised eyebrow from Bakura. "You never answered my Hikari," Bakura commented in a gruff voice, "And where is that damn Pharaoh of yours anyways?"

Yuki's mood dropped visibly. The Hintos noticed the sudden mood change at the words. A glance at the ever-present Millennium Ring around Bakura's neck confirmed the black-haired twins' suspicions of the other two.

Ryou noticed the growing tension in the air. "Well, my Father has a flat here, and Bakura and I were just going out for some food. Care to join us?" he asked.

* * *

Ryou sipped his tea in the café listening to Yugi's story. "Did they?" he asked, more to himself than anything. "I can see them doing that, yes."

Yuki sat in front of him between the other pair of twins slowly chewing his scone. "Really?"

"Take Ryou for example, Brat." Yami Bakura growled out, "He's in your grade, and they consider him a friend," he spat, "But you people only talk to him like once a year."

"That's over exaggerating it a bit," Ryou interrupted, "We hang out occasionally, and most of the times I refuse because I don't want Bakura taking over and stabbing anyone's eyes out with the Ring. But Bakura has a point." He admitted over his Yami's continuous rant of "I knew that stupid Pharaoh was good for nothing".

"Sorry," Yuki apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Ryou said amicably. "Let's not talk about that. Tell me about this band of yours."

Yuki's baby face lit up. "It- It's the best thing that happened to me," he began.

"Because  _we're_  in it." The Japanese twins intoned. Bakura snorted, and Yuki professionally ignored all the interruptions.

"It's called "Pie" for Rah-knows-what reasons. There's Genta, and Kaithey, these two, and me." Yuki laughed. "Oh! And we're performing tomorrow! We're the opening band, really, but hopefully we'll get some more recognition from the crowd after tomorrow. It's been great with everyone; they're practically my new family. And, uh,"

"Come!" Matthew finished for him, staring Ryou in the eye. "We'd love it if ya came. I'm sure Genta and Kaithey would wanna meet'cha."

"We'll talk wi't Jia'nyu, and get him ta talk wi't the creepy security people ta let ya in. I'm sure it won't be  _that_ hard ta recognize ya two. Don't worry," he waved aside their doubts, "Uncle Jia'nyu loves us." Yes, really, Jianyu was their actual uncle.

"Are you alright with it if we came to watch, Yug - Yuki?" the soft-spoken albino corrected himself.

"Ah," Yugi blushed, "I never expected to have to sing in front of people I knew …"

"So it's settled; see ya at seven tomorrow." Antonio interrupted with an arm slung over Yuki's head, "Stay a bit aft'awords, would'cha? If we play things right, may'b Jianyu'd let ya come to the back to meet the rest of us. And I'm sure Genta would love to meet ya."

 

* * *

 

After a great hassle with entrance security, testing Bakura's nonexistent patience, they finally made it into the venue. The noise was loud as fans chattered discordantly to each other.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate noise, and would really prefer listening to old classic rock than all this stuff they have nowadays?" Ryou asked airily.

"More the reason we came." Bakura confirmed.

"Really?" Ryou scoffed. Trust Bakura to do things just because his Hikari hated it. "What was the main reason you came then?"

"To laugh at the Brat, of course." He chuckled. "And unlike you, I like loud, crowded places."  _There is more I can get away with doing_  was left unsaid.

As the time neared, the dark empty stage filled with shadowed members. "Is that them?" Ryou asked, squinting.

Bakura's night vision was better. "Don't see the Brat anywhere. Maybe they're the other opening band." He was right. Introducing themselves as  _Carpet-murder Police,_  the band went through a list of songs as the audience sang along. Then, the lights dimmed again as they left the stage, leaving applauding and shouting in their wake. There was a short break as the next band slowly set up their equipment in the dark.

"Is  _that_  them?" Ryou asked.

His Yami smirk, "There's your moldy-haired miget."

"He grew a few inches since we last saw him, actually," Ryou tutted, ignoring the  _moldy-haired_ comment. And according to the shadows, another one of them was that height as well.

"Well, he's still shorter than me." Bakura dismissed.

The two were momentarily blinded as the lights turned on once more, and a female voice shouted out, "Do you know who we are?"

There was an unorganized murmur of " _PIE!"_  from some of the audience, while others blinked furiously to rid the white spots from their visions. "Fine!" The girl who later introduced herself as Kaithey pouted, "Don't make us feel happy 'n popular." There were light chuckles and protests about how they couldn't see if they turned on the light so fast, placated by Antonio's "Seriously, you're free to ignore whatever comes out of her mouth. In fact, I recommend it", and Genta's confirmation of Antonio's words.

"That aside," Yuki interrupted, "We're  _PIE_  and ready to rock!" Yuki, standing in the middle of the stage was wearing a short-sleeved, slategray coloured, woven shirt. He left it unbuttoned and wore a marron T-shirt underneath, ripped horizontally along the side. Obviously, he couldn't let go of his leather obsession, as he still wore his usual black leather pants. The two girls stood on either sides of Yugi with their guitars. Antonio sat behind Kaithey with his drum-set, and Matthew on the other side on the electric keyboard.

There was cheer from the audience.

Yuki smiled into the crowd. It was an almost indescribable feeling, standing there as the people before him encouraged him on. They didn't know him, and frankly, it might've even been their first time even hearing about him, yet they all cheered like the same. By coming to watch, they had trust that their band would be good. It was always nerve-wracking to stand up in front of everyone, but Yuki could hear the acceptance the crowd gave him as their screams escalated. They watched his every move, but this only gave him more confidence, knowing out there was  _at least_  one person who came all that way just to meet them. And Yuki knew he just had to live up to that expectation of theirs and give them the concert of their lives.

He tilted his head, allowing his silver bangs to fall out of his face. His violet eyes shone under the spotlight as he grabbed the microphone tightly. Yuki opened his mouth, words forming before he had the chance to think or even feel embarrassed with everyone's eyes on him, "How about we start with  _It's a Lie_?"

Antonio hit the drums even as yelling overpowered them. Kaithey joined in with Matthew and Genta moments later. Yuki took a quick glance at his backup singers, Genta and Matthew for this particular song, as he took a deep, calming breath, waiting for his cue.  _Now-_

 _Oh, don't let me go._ _  
You lead me round n round this unbreakable road_  
 _It's always like so._  
Loosing me every step  
Drowning in smothering false pep

 _I'm loosing control all alone_  
Stop happening,  
This travesty -stop showing me  
This enmity -I've always(always) known  
So why can't anyone else see?

 _Where did we go wrong?_  
Where did it die?  
Where did our lives suddenly collide  
And break apart like the sun and the moon  
It threw us away, way too soon.

 _Can you hear me?_  
Can someone hear my voice?  
Can you save me?  
Can someone make a choice (and let me survive?)  
I'm breaking down without love.

The audience sang along, word for word, yet they could not compare to the boy on stage. Emotions rolled off his every word. Even the two members by his side couldn't convey the message as strong as he could.

 _Look up; far away  
It's not for me_ _  
Our futures distant, broken, worse than frayed_  
 _Nothing worthwhile to see_  
Cuz me, without you, is nothing to do-  
(Nothing is… nothing ever to)

 _I'm loosing my touch,_  
I'm loosing my mind,  
I'm loosing my self-control, my thoughts and the kind.  
I'm loosing everything dear to me  
Oh, why can't anyone just see?

 _Can you hear me?_  
Can someone hear my voice?  
Can you save me?  
Can someone make a choice (and let me survive?)  
I'm breaking down without love.

_Don't leave me here alone,  
The future's bleak; unknown  
I'm killing time -nothing here  
killing dreams -nothing spare  
_ _Nothing to seek (neither here or there)_

_It's ever ending, never speaking,  
Never(Never) just for me._

_Don't speak my name_  
Until the end  
Your voice is poison all the same

 _I'm feeling fine (No you're not)_  
I'm living on (No you won't)  
I WILL survive (nooo)  
All alone.

 _Can you hear me?_  
Can someone hear my voice?  
Can you save me?  
Can someone make a choice and let me survive!  
I'm breaking down without love.

 _Without love -don't leave me alone_  
Without you -don't say goodbye  
I'm without peace of mind that you'll be here eternity  
Cuz the little last secret I refuse to hold dear  
Is the fact I know you were NEVER really here for me.

_Not ME  
(Please tell me it's a lie)_

Ryou sat, enraptured by the different Yugi - no, YUKI in front of him. Gone was the meek, shy little boy. Yugi Mutou was just a shadow of his past now.

The crowd grew louder and they named another song to sing. Ryou watched as Yuki's smile grew as people encored them on. He could see it in their eyes that their band loved what they did. He was never one to shout out, but Ryou joined with the rest of the audience as they cheered when  _Pie_  left the stage as the lights dimmed once more.

The crowd grew as more fans entered the venture for the main event. Ryou neither cared nor noticed them. Plus, his ears were ringing quite badly.

 

* * *

 

Screaming from the security guard warned Yuki of the Millennium Ring users' arrival. An Asian man, possibly in his late thirties, escorted the two albino twins in. He looked over his slim glasses at Yuki with charcoal eyes. "Your friends?" he asked with a voice absent of any accent.

Yuki nodded meekly. The man let out a sigh, running a hand through his long, loosely tied, peppered hair. The twins let out a squeal of "JIIIII!", informal Japanese for 'Uncle', and leaped on the man.

He pushed them both of with a grunt of: "Heavy. Sweaty. Off. Now." He turned towards Yuki, "Please tell your friends not to disturb the Security guards anymore before they scare him off." The green-haired boy nodded his thanks as the man left to take care of business.

Ryou looked over at the band members with a blush on his face as Bakura merely grinned sadistically by himself. "Do I even want to know what he did?" Yuki asked. Even as Ryou shook his head, Bakura's Ring gleamed under his jacket. "Right…" Yuki could guess.

"You're Yuki's friends from school?" Genta questioned, coming up from behind.

"I wouldn't say  _friend_  exactly," Bakura started, but Ryou elbowed him in the stomach and nodded.

"I'm Ryou, and this is Bakura."

The girl stared down Ryou, ignoring his words. "So where were you when what's-his-face Yami and those losers decided flush their brains down the toilet and turned on Yuki? You just left Yuki to deal with that alone?" Ryou shrunk under her gaze.

"Er, well actually-" He started.

Bakura snorted at Genta, stepping in front of his Light. "Your half-assed attempt at intimidation's not moving anyone, little girl."

"Little?" She shot back, "In case you haven't noticed, you scrawny ear swab, it appears I'm  _older_ than you. And keep on topic."

"You said it right; appears. I may look like seventeen, but I'm  _much_  older than you, mortal." Bakura spat back. He purposely ignored the last part of her statement.

Fragments of Yuki's confession drifted back to her mind. "So … you're a spirit, then?" Bakura's Millennium Ring shimmered into existence as to answer her question.

"Scared?" Bakura hissed dangerously. His eyes gleamed a maroon colour in the dark. His Ring shone ominously, defying gravity.

Genta bit her lip nervously before shaking it off. "I don't care if you're as old as mummified toilet paper! All I want to know is how come you let Yuki suffer all alone."

"Actually," Ryou interrupted before Bakura did anything rash, "Although we're friends, we're not really that close. Especially last year, when I was placed in a different class as them. I never knew they were treating Yugi like that until he told me just yesterday. Plus, I'm absent from school quite a lot, and I travel back to England during the Break, so I have limited contact with their group." He said softly, apologetically.

Bakura rolled his eyes and scoffed at his words. "It's not like they don't ignore Ryou to begin with anyways."

Genta looked abashed at their statements. "Oh.  _Ahem_  … sorry?"

"Don't mind Gen-Gen. She talks before she thinks." Kaithey cut in, shoving her face in the conversation. Her face was in a friendly smile, even as she climbed on the taller girl.

"It's all right." The gentler white-haired boy insisted.

"I'm Kaithey, by the way." She introduced. "And that was Genta. Apparently you met Hinto and Hinto a while ago. And, of course you know Lucy."

Ryou blinked. "I'm sorry; Hinto and Hinto and Lucy?" he questioned. "No, wait, I get the Hintos, but who's Lucy?"

"Lucy's … you know, Lucy!" the short girl cried, "How do you know someone for your whole school life and not know their name?" Yuki voluntarily raise his hand behind her when the Bakuras' faces stayed blank.

Bakura howled in amusement. "I always knew you were a girl behind that face, Brat."

Yuki blew a raspberry and hid behind Ryou. Ryou smiled and hid a laugh behind his hand, "I'm glad you seem to be having fun. Good luck on your band, but Bakura and I have to be leaving now if we don't want to make it home too late."

Yuki showed them to the door, "It was embarrassing knowing you two were watching me, but I'm happy you came. I want to show how much I've changed."

"And you did. For the better," Ryou confirmed.

* * *

Bakura strolled down the street with Ryou twirling a stick around his finger. "That was rather interesting, don't you think?" He asked.

Ryou nodded, "I never thought Yugi was so bold. I always thought he was just a shy boy."

"Like you?" His Yami teased, "Maybe we should start a band as well. It might do you some good."

Ryou blushed. "I'm not standing in front of so many people. Besides, I can't sing or play any instruments. Not that we have any instruments in the first place."

The darker boy shrugged, "You don't know about that."

"Eh?" the albino looked over to the spirit. His eyes narrowed, "Where did you get that, Bakura?"

"Oh this?" He asked. Bakura continued to twirl a wooden drumstick as he walked down the street, "I just picked it up," he simply said.

 

 

* * *

**Six or so months later:**

The doorbell rang. A shriek of "JIIII~" and a thud told Yuki exactly who the visitor was. The band's producer slash manager laid on the floor, two giddy twins sprawled on top of him. "I think I'm getting to old for this." The Asian man sighed as Yuki helped him up. "They still think they're five."

"But you're our  _favourite_!" they cried.

Yuki lead the man to the living room where Kaithey was sleeping, with a cushion on her face, and licorice stick sticking out. "Kaithey, company." He said, swatting her legs off the seat.

The girl snapped up with a jolt, "Oh, hey, I'm alive!" she exclaimed, seemingly shocked at the fact, " _Operation Licorice Air Tube_  was a success!"

"Company." Yuki repeated, ignoring her suicide attempt, and Kaithey finally noticed the man beside him.

"Hey Jianyu-nyu!" The sleepy girl greeted dreamily, "Let me go get Gen'a." She attempted to get up but tripped over the armrest. She groaned on the floor, "Argh," she muttered, "To much work." Kaithey raised her voice, "GENTA, NYU-NYU'S HERE!"

"Stop giving me a different nickname every time I visit," the man deadpanned.

As the whole band gathered in the living room, their manager grinned at them. "Looks like  _all_  those gigs and guest-gigs I gave you were time (and money) well spent. And I'm glad I booked that concert for you last week." At their confused faces, he continued, "One of your fans saw your latest performance and wants you guys to perform over at his venue. You guys have been rising up the charts like a rocket, so I'm not surprised. If I'm not mistaken, already you're in the top ten list of the hottest bands around, and still going up."

The five of them grinned, proud at that thought. As a relatively newer band than most, it was a surprise they could be so popular. Kaithey said it was because Lucy looked so much like a cute little bushbaby for the girls to fawn over. Genta said it was because of how hard Jianyu had been promoting them. Matthew claimed it was because he spammed the web with  _Pie_ ads and sites. Yuki mentioned how maybe the girls were infatuated with Kaithey's unique style and looked up to her. Antonio pressed the fact that because he was in it,  _of course_ it was doing so well. In the end, they all agreed (or forced to agree in Genta's case) that it was because of the twins and their, as proven before, magical powers.

Besides that fact, it wasn't like they slacked off either. They worked hard. To try to make up for their lack of songs for fans to hoard over (since they only had two CDs out, and only one had Yuki as vocals), they diligently came up with new songs to hopefully release their next CD soon, before their rank dropped.

"Where's our next job going to be at?" Genta asked.

"Japan," Jianyu declared.

"No." was the first thing out of Yuki's mouth before he could think.

"Sorry?" their manager asked.

"Ah." Yuki rubbed his face, embarrassed at the outburst, "Well, sorry; Japan brings up bad memories. But I'm sure it's not in  _that_  part of Japan, so it's fine, I suppose."

" _Where_  in Japan is it?" Genta urged the long-haired man.

"Two places." Jianyu replied, rather happy at that fact, "One in Knight City. There's an outdoor stage behind the newly built CapMon Mall. Then we move to the city beside it - Domino City to …"

"No!" Yuki yelled. "Why  _Domino City_  of all places?" He was NOT ready to face Yami and company. Their faces flashed in his mind. They stared down at him, below their noses, bored, despising him. Their combined glares gave him shivers, and he felt his heart drop.

Genta patted the boy softly on his head to calm him down, "Now, now. Jianyu, can we take one but not the other?"

"Well, they're offering free transportation to and from Japan. That's saving us a lot of money." The older man replied.

"Money's not a problem, you know." Matthew insisted, "We can take care of that if we have to."

"That aside, they really liked your band a lot to want to book not one, but two places for you guys. I don't know what you have against that City, but personal emotions shouldn't lead your career." He looked at the children before him, "I'm saying this to all of you. What's personal is personal, and what's a job is a job. I'm not lying when I say I know how it can be hard sometimes to keep the two apart, but professionally, that's what needs to be done. Unless it REALLY is impossible to separate, don't let it get in the way of what's important to you. And frankly, maybe you're regret turning down this offer, and you'll have nothing to blame but your own selfish problem."

Yuki held his mouth and he listened to the man's wise words. Not wanting to perform in Domino really was just his selfish desire, wasn't it? And his friends allowed him to refuse it. They weren't thinking about themselves; they were rejecting the offer just because Yuki of the team did. And Yuki didn't want to go because of a personal problem from the past.

The youngest boy let out a held breath he didn't know he held. "Let's go." He declared. He was in a team; a TEAM. He was one of five, and not alone anymore.

At the other's protests, he just shook them off, "I was overreacting guys. I'm over it now. Besides, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Yuki exclaimed, "Two gigs over in Japan might just be what we need to kick us up to top three."

"And what about you?" Genta asked quietly. "You think our want of being top band override your well-being? We're a family whether you like it or not, and we stick together."

Yuki grinned at her words, "That exactly why I'll be fine; I'll have you guys to take care of me. And besides, maybe they won't even be there or even recognize me to begin with." He laughed, and then told a lie, "Even if we do see them, I won't care. I'll just show them how successful I've become."

Antonio slapped the shorter boy's back, "Damn straight we're successful," he cheered, as the drum stick stuck behind his ear poked the shorter boy's face as he playfully cuddled him.

The green-haired boy grabbed the stick away as Antonio showed no sigh of stopping. "Say, why is your name carved on here?" he asked, looking at the handle.

The drummer shrugged. "It's always been there after I lost my drumsticks in that concert way back when. Our first overseas concert," he replied. "I always wondered where it rolled off to," he mused.

 

 


	13. Only a matter of time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written especially for Valentines and for any MatthewxLaptop shippers out there. Wait, no. No it wasn't. I humbly apologise for getting your hopes up.

Yuki gave a yawn as he strolled down the hall with his band-mates. "So let me get this straight; this guy's actually offering to pay for practically everything? Transportation included?"

"It appears so," Genta replied with a shrug. She stopped walking, forcing the others to look back and wait for her. "Look, Yuki," she began, "Are you really okay with this? We can still cancel the gig if you want to." She said softly.

The green-silver-haired boy gave a small smile, "For the last time; it's completely fine, Genta. Don't worry about it."

His friends shared a look, but reluctantly dropped the issue … again.

Yuki sighed to himself. He knew they meant well, but every time they asked, he became more indecisive. Was he sure he wanted to go? Well… no. He wasn't sure at all. But he knew he  _had_  to. To fight off his inner demons, or something.

The hall they were strolling in was in fact, the airport hallway leading to their ride to Japan. Today was finally the day they were leaving.

Kaithey raced up ahead of them, "Come on, Slowpokes! Now that we're finished our obligatory daily 'bother-Lucy-about-his-decision' session, can we get on with it? I wanna test the comfortableness of our ride's seats."

You could always count on Kaithey to reduce the tension.

"She means she wans'ta fall asleep on the seat 'fore the plane lifts off in an 'tempt to quell her motion sickness." Antonio corrected in a hoarse stage whisper.

"Hey, I heard that!"

"No, really." He retorted sarcastically.

The short girl flipped her hair in a decidedly snobby gesture, "Well, I guess we all can't be perfect like me and my excellent hearing."

"Yes,  _excellent_  hearing," Genta repeated dully. "Now let's add excellent sight to that list. If you're finished your ego stroking, it seems like that's our ride." She said, pointing in front of them. Out the large windows separating the passengers and the long runway of the planes was their ride.

The band stared out the huge window panes where the huge aircraft sat, waiting for them to board. Stair already connected to the door of the plane, inviting them in.

Yuki gawked at the ship in shock. Why was he not surprised? Well, maybe he was -just a bit. But he kind of expected this too. He had an idea that maybe  _he_ was behind it. Nothing concrete, mind you, but this completely proved his prediction. Yuki never took him for busybody. He wondered if anyone else realised?

Genta stared at the plane, eyes narrowed in thought as she stared. "Why does that look so familiar?" She murmured to herself.

"What does, GenGen?"

The oldest girl pointed at the glistening letters embedded on the plane's exterior. "That - KC." she read out loud.

"Gee Gran'ma, what short mem'ry you 'ave." Antonio drawled.

"Better to forget your shoddy jokes with, whelp." She shot back.

"Actually, Gen, Grandma calls lil' Red 'my dear', not 'whelp'." Kaithey interrupted in all seriousness.

"I'm sure Grandma meant 'whelp'. The censorship was just too great." Genta shook her head, "Wait, why are we talking about this again? I just asked about the logo!"

Yuki gave a laugh at her dilemma. These guys never changed. "Actually, KC stands for-" The boy broke off as he was crushed in a headlock. "Hey, Anto-"

"Shh, I know you're try'n to be helpful," The twins patted his head like he was a lost puppy, "But Gran'ma's brain needs its ex'ercise if she doesn't wan' it to rot."

The brown-haired girl rolled her eyes at them. "Fine, whatever. So it stands for something, huh?"

"We saw it not too long ago." Matthew supplied helpfully before he too was shushed by his twin.

Genta scrunched up her face in thought. "KC… KC… Ka… Ke- Kentucky… Chicken?" she managed out.

Yuki stiffened a giggle. He could imagine Kaiba selling chickens.

Antonio sighed out loud. "'not too long ago' doesn't mean last night, m'lady. Besides, that was Kentu'ky  _Fried_  Chi'ken. You know, KFC?"

The girl snorted. "Well, maybe there's a whole corporation of Kentucky Chicken like KFC, KBC, KRC, and KSC. And KC is the category they're all put under," She defended.

They just stared at her. "K - what - C?"

"You know, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Kentucky Boiled Chicken, Kentucky Roasted Chicken, Kentucky Steamed Chicked?" She elaborated hesitatingly.

"And here I always thought you were to most sane one." Yuki commented with a mock sigh.

"Yuki!"

The boy grinned cheekily, still under the grips of the twins. "Anyways, it stands for Kaiba Corp." he told her before anyone could stop him.

Genta rescued him before Antonio and Matthew could strangle the poor boy for spilling the answer to her. "What do you mean 'not too long ago'?" She fumed, finally remembering, "The last time we saw his copter was practically two years ago." She paused before she did a double take at the name. "Wait, what?" she exclaimed, "Kaiba?" She looked over at her band-mates, "What is he-" she broke off, "Well… any reason why I'm the only one who seems surprised at this revelation?"

The twins looked at each other. "Well, in case you did'n know, Kaiba owns both places we're gonna to pe'form in. It ma'ks sense he's tha one who called us."

Kaithey shrugged as Genta glanced over at her. "Life seemed too monotonous lately. It was only a matter of time before some shocking twist appeared." Genta blinked and then proceeded to ignore her.

"Yuki?" She asked.

The boy copied Kaithey by shrugging. "I kind'a expected it. I figured everything in Japan led back to Kaiba, so even if he didn't have anything to do with it, eventually he would come into the picture anyways. Now is just sooner rather than later."

Her eyes slid into a worried slant. "Are you sure you're still fine with this? Who knows what he's got planned for you?"

Yuki shook his head, "Kaiba's a good guy. He wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt me." He said confidently, and the older girl couldn't help to trust his strong words of praise for the other man.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a man dressed in a black suit approached them. His black sunglasses didn't help his somewhat ominous look. He stared at the green-haired boy. "Yugi Mutou?" he asked.

Yuki stared at the older Japanese man with black hair. It took him a second to recognize him as Kaiba's bodyguard from the Battle City tournament. "Ah, I apologise," the man said before Yuki could say anything, "Mr. Kaiba informed me you went by the name 'Yuki' now."

Yuki blushed but nodded in affirmative. He gestured for Yuki's friends to follow him onboard. Great, it seemed like everyone he knew knew his self-chosen name nowadays.

Yuki looked around, always surprised at the things Kaiba had. "I knew Kaiba had helicopters, jets, and blimps, but now planes as well?"

The bodyguard nodded at his words. "Mr. Kaiba intends to dominate the technology market. Kaiba Corporation produces everything from cell phones to assorted types of transportation mobiles. Recently, after  _Kaiba Land_ , Mr. Kaiba has moved on to purchasing land for malls and hotels. Hence your first concert is at Mr. Kaiba's newly built CapMon Mall."

Yuki laughed by himself. Kaiba would surely own Japan one day with the way he was doing things.

The older man looked over at the twin tapping away on his laptop. "If you like," he said, "we can provide you with a Kaiba Laptop for your stay in Japan."

Matthew hugged his beloved tightly. "RiRi all the way." He argued while whispering sweet nothings to his laptop in an attempt to sooth it from the big bad man's mean words.

The man's eye seemed to twitch as he backed away slowly.

"Er… who?" Yuki asked.

Genta sighed. "These two are afraid Kaiba's going to take over the technological world or something. So they refuse to support him. They won't let us own any Kaiba products, so we go for the second greatest brand – RiRi, by the Hiranttsu."

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "In other words it's because of the twin's unnatural fear of Kaiba?"

"If you ask me, it's more like 'unnatural hatred'." The girl snorted.

The twins slapped Yuki on the back. "Man, if you've seen the things we've seen, done the things we've done, you-"

"Oh wait, you have." The other interrupted. They nodded to each other.

"You're right, brother dearest, Shorty here's seen Genta's horrifying morning moods."

"And seen her horrible taste in clothes."

"And been made to slave over her cup of coffee just so she doesn't kill us."

"And been made to do  _productive_  things on our days off."

"And-"

"And this has  _nothing_  to do with your abnormal hatred for Mr. Kaiba." She snarled, shooting him a withering glare. And of course, the twins were no ninjas, so hiding under a blanket did them no good.

Yuki, smartly, had already hidden himself once he heard them talking about the taboo topics.

As for Kaithey, she was already conked out in her seat in deep sleep. No wonder no one heard from her the whole time…

 

* * *

 

Yuki peeked out from backstage. He squinted in the dark, trying to make out faces in the crowd.

"You develo'ped night-vision yet, Superman?" Antonio teased with a grin. "You do that ev'ry concert, but can you really see an'nyone?"

"Absolutely nothing." Yuki confirmed.

"Ah, that makes perfect sense." The black-haired Japanese twin stated with a nod. "You look 'cause you see noth'n. The perfect repre'se'tation of your brain."

The green-haired boy rolled his eyes, "Ha ha; very funny. It calms my nerves." He confessed. Looking out, he could roughly estimate how many people were watching him. The first couple times he performed, the turnout always gave him a jolt of shock, causing him to hesitate. Sure he'd gained an enormous amount of confidence compared to the shy boy he used to be, but could  _anyone_  just start singing in front of a hall full of people without doing anything to calm their nerves first?

Besides, if he got used to the pure dark of the stage instead of the dimly lit backstage he was in, he could blind himself with the rest of the audience as the lights turned on. He wouldn't be able to scare himself by looking at the crowd, being blinded as he was. And by the time his eyes adjusted, he would be too into the song and mood to care.

It was a good strategy if he did say so himself.

Although this time, Yuki just wanted to see if he could recognize anyone. During his walk around the Knight City, he had a cap jammed down on his head, trying to attract as little attention as he could. At first he'd decided to stay inside the whole time before his concert. That idea eventually lost to his other growing need to prove to himself that he was fine being in Japan.

The walk turned out to be acceptable, he supposed. Sure he jumped every time he heard the words 'duel monsters' but no one seemed to recognize him to be Yugi Mutou.

It made him sad, but also happy at the same time. Sad because he truly lost his previous life without anyone being any wiser; but happy because he was no longer stuck under that shadow of a life. He was a new man like he wished to be – without Yami ruining everything for him.

"It's better than you gnawing on your drumsticks, Antonio." Genta commented, flipping over music sheets. Her voice jolted Yuki back to the present.

"I do not!" The twin denied, sticks in his mouth as he used his free hands to gel up his black hair.

"Of course not." Genta mock consoled.

Yuki laughed at them. "You know, one of these days, we're going to break out in a real argument back here, and completely mess up our concert."

"It makes me sad that my complaints and or comments are being treated as unimportant babble." Genta sniffed sadly. She was surprisingly in a good mood after drugging a (still managed to get) plane-sick Kaithey to sleep earlier that day, and spending the day shopping.

"I agree, m'lady." Antonio nodded, acting as if he was swiping at tears in his eyes. "I thought our argument was quite real."

"Good man," she said.

 _Since when did those two ever agree on anything?_  Yuki thought. His brain supplied him with an instant a while ago, when the band was still rising its ranks, and suddenly he had an indescribable need to run away.

Genta pounced on him, ruffling up his hair and clothes. "Hey!" the lead singer yelped. Too late.

She paid him no heed as she continued her work. The brunette glanced over at Antonio who was returning from wherever he left to when Genta jumped him. "Time." The girl barked.

"T-minus four seconds." He grinned before joining the fun.

"Not you too-" before he could complain, the poor boy was shoved out towards to stage, lights blazing just a second beforehand.

"Er…" The stage was oddly quiet at that moment. Yuki found the need to defend his flustered appearance. He brain whirled, and an excused escaped his mouth before he could think about it, " _I think_ -" ' _Japanese, not English,'_ His brain reminded him. "I think my band-mates were possessed by a crazed fan-girl and they'd started stripping me before I could escape onto the stage." He said seriously.

The audience wolf-whistled and Yuki couldn't help but crack up with them. "Yeah…"

The flimsy curtains behind him dropped to the side, and the stage lights flared red as Antonio started drumming for their intro.

The green-haired boy shook his head to get back into the program. "I'm glad to be performing here in Knight City!" he shouted. He'd get back at the two later. The crowd cheered ecstatically.

"That was fun stripping." Antonio murmured from behind. He, of course, had a mike in front of him, so everyone heard. Yuki would get back double for him.

"Welcome, ladies and gentle-minions to our evil plot of a band show takeover of the world." Kaithey yelled in passable Japanese. Yuki wondered if she actually knew what she was talking about. "We are pie eating!"

Probably not, Yuki guessed. Considering it was the twins who taught her Japanese.

"We flying songs of UFO to you!" she continued. Yuki idly wondered what would happen if he let her talk the whole concert. That, and he wondered if Kaithey really meant, "We flew here to sing songs from  _Please Invite Extraterrestrials_ (their second album) for you", and if anyone else realised that.

Matthew left his keyboard and grabbed the mike from her hands. "I apologise for her noise pollution." He said into the mike solemnly with a half bow.

Yuki continued his observation at the usualness of fans as he heard girls squeal at Matthew's voice. Speaking of which, Matthew never did much of the talking during their concerts, so maybe that's why the fans were so wild about it? It couldn't be his looks since they wouldn't be able to tell Antonio and Matthew apart.

Yuki let them continue talking. He wondered what would happen now that they'd deviated from any sort of plan they had beforehand.

The green-silver haired boy sighed, and decided to take charge. He was the 'leader' (being the lead singer), wasn't he? He knew the other four well enough to know they  _were_  able to continue talking the whole time if no one stopped them. "I'm sure you're all not here to listen to us chatter, right?" He yelled above the other's conversations. The screaming from the crowd gave an affirmative to his words.

Now that their focus was back on him, Yuki could suddenly feel the intense heat from the blaring overhead lights. His face felt flushed, and he wondered if it was bright red under his makeup.

"Well, I wonder what we should sing first?" he murmured softly into the microphone. Immediately the crowd gave their response. Of course, Yuki couldn't make out any words from their hollers, but then again, he already had a song in mind.

"I heard  _Over The Edge._ " He grinned.

Immediately Antonio's beat changed, and Matthew and the girls took their cues. Yuki bobbed his head, concentrating, trying to keep track of the beat. The two girls already started their whispering openings.

 

 _Why? Why try so hard?_  
Why? Why let it be?  
Why? Why take the time?  
Why? If you don't even care?  
I'm falling-

And there it was-

 

 _You're nothing, you hear,_  
You're nothing, can't you see?  
This is life; this is love  
This is the way it has to be.

 _This is_ _time, this is my destiny._  
Falling down, failing life  
Losing hope,  
Ending all your suffering-

 _No, let me be_  
Let me go, watch over me  
Falling off, hold me tight  
Trust me so, with all your might.

_I'm falling-_

_O_ _ver the edge, off the sea_  
down the cracks  
Of society.  
I am fine, let me be  
This is life; this is love  
This is the way it has to be.

Once again, Yuki fell into the soothing world of music. Nothing in the world mattered but his words.

 

_Oh why can't you see?_

_You're nothing without this_  
Don't let me  
go pass my limit,  
Don't let me  
get way over my head!  
Never look back, Never forget

 _This is life._  
Our cold, lost life-  
Forgotten

_I'm falling-_

_O_ _ver the edge, off the sea_  
down the cracks  
Of society.  
I am fine, let me be  
This is life; this is love  
This is the way it has to be.

_Oh why can't you see?_

_Never let me go_  
Never let me be  
I'm fine on my own, but I'm forgetting-  
Hold on to me

 _The world is cold_  
the bitter life  
When is my time  
When will I be fine?

 _Can I live on like this  
Down in the depths_ __  
Loosing control  
My life will take its toll

_I'm falling-  
(Save me)_

_Over the edge, off the sea_  
(Hold on to me)  
down the cracks  
Of society.  
I am fine; let me be  
This is life; this is love  
This is the way it has to be.

_Oh why can't you see?  
Oh why can't I be?_

_Life is no more-_  
Without you; without me,  
I'd be falling-

_..._

* * *

 

"You two are  _evil._ " Yuki snapped, grabbing a towel from them as he entered the backstage. He was, of course, referring to what happened at the beginning of the concert when they flung him out.

The two culprits, Genta and Antonio grinned at him. "That was a good save." Genta told him sweetly.

"Next time I'm pushing  _you_  out."

The two had the audacity to laugh at him. "Been there, done that."

Kaithey shook her head sadly at the boy, "Lucy, it's a sad, sad, scary day when the two of them get along."

"I'm aware," Yuki said, "The first time this happened I thought I was just imagining things, but now I'm certain. They should NEVER get along."

"Makes you want to run away, huh?" the short girl asked.

"Yeah." He answered thoughtfully.

"Makes you wish GenGen was cranky instead, huh?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Makes you wonder if  _she_  was the triplet, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Makes you wish everyone on the band was more like me, huh?"

"Yeah –wait, no!" Yuki hastily corrected. "You're no better!"

Kaithey gave a pout and a sniff, pretending to cry. "I thought you like me better than that!"

"Not enough to have a band full of you." Yuki said with a shiver at the thought. He'd never stop having a headache if they were. "Maybe if the whole band was more like Matthew." He mused.

The electronic keyboard player was decidedly the sanest one of the group when Genta was in one of her moods. He was less of a prankster than his younger twin brother.

Kaithey was the one to shiver this time. "You'd really prefer having a band of  _him_?" she asked in disbelief, pointing at the boy who was already slaving over his laptop.

Yugi's mind reeled, thinking back on all the times he saw Matthew fondling, caressing, cradling, cuddling, and snuggling with his laptop. "On second thought, maybe we should have a whole band of me?"

Kaithey laughed right out at him, so that was obviously taken as a 'no' as well. Too bad.

"Hey, I'm hungry. Where can we go to eat so late at night?" Matthew asked, stroking the top of his dear electronic device. …or maybe he was just cleaning to cover?

Genta frowned. "No clue. Why can't we eat in the hotel?"

"Because hotel food is for lazy people, duh." Antonio answered for him.

"You guys do know it's not actually that late, right?" Yuki asked. "This was planned as an early concert... there shouldn't really be any problems finding someplace to eat."

"But where?"

"Hmm," Yuki never spent much time in Knight City. If they were at Domino, he could name plenty of places. Speaking of which, did he even want to eat there where he could be easily recognized? Yuki frowned thoughtfully. Well, he did test walking out at Knight City and no one realised he was Yugi. Maybe it would be like that too in Domino?

"Hey, you guys want to go to  _Kaiba Land_?" He asked.

"The amusement park Kaiba named after himself?" Kaithey asked with a laugh. "Now  _he_ has a huge ego."

Matthew shrugged, packing up. "Ain't that where our next concert is held?" He asked. "We migh' as well get there early."

"One whole day early, whoope-de-doo." Kaithey deadpanned. "What are you, over-achieving students? We need to be fashionable late!" she declared

Genta gave her a smack on the head. "Going late is how you get fired."

Yuki laughed at them, shaking his head. "Kaiba probably has a hotel there for us, anyways. Besides that, I thought you wanted food? There's a great café there. They even put little umbrellas in the drinks." And while he wasn't a duel monsters nut anymore, he still missed watching duels in person. The player's raw determination and belief always made him feel better.

"To the café!" The twins cheered, stomachs growling in agreement.

 

 

* * *

**Granpa Mutou's Game Shop** **in Domino City...**

Yami rubbed his millennium puzzle as it gave a slight tingle on his skin.

"Someth'n wrong, Yami?" Joey asked, concerned.

The Pharaoh shook his head, casting his golden pedant another look. "Nah, don't worry about it. I'm just imagining things."

The blond gave the Pharaoh a stare before breaking off as the other two, Tristan and Tea, came into view, rushing towards them.

"Hey, Yami, Joey! I hope we're not too late!" Tea panted as she approached the Game Shop.

"Just on time, actually. Come on, we're going duelling, right?" They nodded, as they continued down the road towards the amusement/duelling park.

"Man, we haven't been to Kaiba Land in a while!"

Tea giggled with a nod. "True. But we get enough people demanding a match while walking down the streets. Kaiba sure knew what he was doing when he decided to market the duel disks."

"Yah," Joey agreed, "But nathing beats duel'n in an official arena."

"Joey's right; it has a different feeling to it." Yami commented.

Tea looked thoughtful as she following the boys, "I seem to recall there being a promotional event or something going on tomorrow."

"I don really pay attention ta those things." Joey apologised.

The Pharaoh shook his head, "Neither do I."

"Well…" Tristan snapped his fingers, "Ah, I remember! There was going to be a band coming from America. Don't know why Kaiba suddenly decided to hold a concert though."

The brunette's eyes lit up, "Oh, right! That's it! I think they were called  _Pie_  or something short like that. The only reason I know them is because the lead singer looks almost like you, Yami." She exclaimed.

"Really?"

Josy gave a barking laugh, "I can't see you sing'n though, Pharaoh! No offense, but ya kinda tone-deaf."

"Am not!"

"Ya remember your score on ta karaoke machine? Horrible!" He clutched his stomach laughing, tears streaming out of his eyes, "I neva heard sing'n as bad as that before!"

"Joey!" Tea chided. "Well, never mind him. Besides, you look better than that look-a-like anyways. Who cares about singing?"

Yami considered the band, "Now you're making me curious." He stated.

"You want to go tomorrow with me, then?" Tea asked, wondering if she could get the day off.

He looked over at the rest of the guys who didn't care much about the band either. "Nah, let's just go duelling and leave before the rush of people for the band comes. I don't like it when it gets crowded – I can't get a decent game in."

The other two boys nodded in agreement, "I don't know what makes bands so popular. They clearly haven't tried duelling before." Tristan noted.

"Japan's ta strongest at duel monstas." Joey said in a carefree tone as he continued down the road, "Who doesn't like it?"

Yami stared past the blond. He could name someone not as obsessed with the game as them. But he was long gone by now. The Pharaoh tugged at the chain of his puzzle. It had been quiet for so long. Why did he suddenly imagine it tingling a while ago?

He followed his friends, mood suddenly solemn. It had been so easy to continue on even with Yugi gone. After a while, they just fell back into their usual routine. Nothing changed. Nothing felt like it changed. No one seemed to realise anything was wrong.

He went to school, went to the arcade with his friends, and was challenged to duels by strangers. No one realised he wasn't Yugi. No one asked where he was.

Was Yugi right?

If Yami didn't stick Yugi's farewell note on the wall of his room, would he have also forgotten by now?

Yami bit his lip, suddenly no longer feeling the urge to duel. "Hey," he called to his friends.

The three of them turned around. "Something wrong?"

Yami shrugged, "You want to make a detour?" he asked, "I suddenly feel like eating something first. Can we grab a bit before going to the stadium?"

Tea nodded, "Sure, I know a great café in  _Kaiba Land_."

"The place with the little umbrellas?" Yami asked.

"Of course!"

 

 

 

* * *

**And because I can add this in…**

Matthew glared at Kaiba's bodyguard as he came to escort them to Domino City. He wrapped his arms around his laptop, planting a kiss on the sleek black top. "No one's going to replace you, darling – ever." That man better not bring a Kaiba Laptop near if he knew what was good for him. Nothing would ever get between him and his beloved.


	14. It all falls apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, italicized words are for when they are speaking Japanese (as well as emphasis in some instances, but I'm sure you can tell the difference…)

This past year has been quite amusing, I should say. Feeling a bit cooped up in Domino City, I decided to travel around. You know, to visit my other branches of Kaiba Corp around the world.

It wasn't - really, it wasn't - planned that Yuki's little American Rock Band just happened to perform in every city I went to. Seriously, maybe they were stalking me, huh?

And I mean, since I was in town anyways, buying a ticket to watch their concerts wasn't a big deal. I was curious.

He's changed, that boy.

Back in Domino City, Yugi was a wimp, a weakling, and completely dependent on others. And yes, I mean that in the worst way possible.

Now, Yuki's composure calmed every time the lights lit overhead. In a blink of an eye, he settled down in his element, confidence overflowing. The stage was where he belonged.

In the span of two years, I saw a drastic change in the boy's attitude. It seems all Yuki needed was to be put with the right people. People who cared more. People who wanted a loving family just as much as Yuki did.

Yuki's old "friends" came together because of a single, solitary shared interest, and nothing more. I'd heard about the bully, the teasing Yuki had to endure before. Yet, suddenly, just because they all loved duel monsters it stopped?

That wasn't a proper friendship. No wonder Yuki was hidden in a shadow of a life for so long.

But now, together with his friends, he found the path he was meant for. Singing was a gift he had. And destiny brought him to the other four. They boy was lucky.

He was successful and from the blissful smile he had on every concert, everyone could tell he was happy. Much happier than he had ever been.

But! He was a coward. He was running away from his past. It wouldn't have surprised me if Yuki blocked off all his memories from the past.

I strolled through the security room of Kaiba Land, inspecting the goings on my park, my thoughts still on Yuki.

The boy, while had a passion for singing, loved to duel as well. Yet, I had never seen him pick up his deck once since he left. There was a reason why the New York branch Kaiba endorsed Battle Stadium suddenly popped up out of nowhere. But Yuki didn't take the bait. He ignored it, cutting off a part of what he was.

Sure it reminded him of his past life, but that didn't mean he should just go and pledge ignorance to the things he once loved. That wasn't living; that was denying half of your life. And I for one would not sit by watching the brat continue that way.

So I admit. Maybe I was meddling a bit when I requested  _PIE_  to play at my venues. But hey, it was good for the boy, right? Besides, they're quite the popular band nowadays. It would sure boost up my sales. It helps him, and it helps me. Win-win. A good deal if I ever saw one.

I wouldn't be a successful businessman if I didn't take it. And I am.

Shouting suddenly blared from one of my monitors. "Disturbance over at the  _Umbrella Café_!" someone shouted.

I looked over, muttering to myself, "Huh, I thought I would help Yuki to stop running away from the past, but I never expected this to happen."

My employee in front of the monitor looked over at me. "Mr Kaiba, sir. Do you want me to call security?" There was shouting on the monitor, disrupting the other customers. In any other circumstance I would have had them thrown out immediately.

But this time… I concentrated on the screen with a calculated gaze. "No," I replied after a moment of hesitation, "Let it be."

"Yes sir, Mr Kaiba."

I sat down in front of the screen. "I'll take over," I told him. The employee nodded, focus immediately drawn to another monitor. I stared, watching the shouting match commence. _And so it begins_. My face slipped back into a mask of indifference.

 

 

* * *

**A bit earlier…**

Yuki was having a great time. People glanced over at them when they walked by (who wouldn't with his green hair and Kaithey's disastrous fashion style) but overall ignored them. Every now and then a crowd would mob them, recognizing the American Rock band for who they were, but majority of the people at Kaiba Land where duel monster nerds, ignorant of the music industry.

By the time Yuki and his band settled down at the  _Umbrella Café_ , Yuki decided that coming back to Japan wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"You'd think Kaiba would have cooler naming skills." Kaithey noted, sitting by Yuki as she watched Genta sip her decorated drink. "A café with umbrellas called  _Umbrella Café_. It's like naming my dog  _Dog_."

Genta snorted, "And pray tell what  _you_  would've called it?"

"Well-"

"Wait, no. No, never mind. I don't want to know." The older girl interrupted, brain catching up to words. She did  _not_  just give Kaithey encouragement.

"But the  _umbrellas_!" she whined.

Yuki glanced over at the two girls sitting down the row beside him. "You know you could've always asked for a drink  _without_  an umbrella, right?" the green-haired boy commented.

"Oh shush, you."

"Yeah, yeah." He laughed. Yuki chewed on his pasta that arrived not a moment before.

Matthew and Antonio, both sitting across the table from the three of them laughed together, arm slung across their shoulders, worry-free.

Yuki smiled at the scene. Life wasn't so bad right now. He loved the country. The smell of the air, the crowded stadiums, the growing nature. It was homey.

Yuki'd thought it would upset him - force him into an anxiety attack. But here, he felt relaxed. Like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He was glad he came. And he was glad he could share it with his friends.

The green haired boy looked over at his band-mates who, like him, were busying chowing down on their food.

Japan? Who cared about Japan? All he needed to be concerned about was his friends in front of him, here and now.

Yuki glance at their main guitarist, her order catching his eye. "Seriously, Kaithey? Ice-cream? An extra-large bowl of ice-cream for dinner?"

"Early-dinner." She corrected, as if it made a different.

"Eating sweets so late will make you fat." Yuki lectured, waving his spoon. He leaned over Genta, who sat between them, and attempted to steal a scoop. "But don't worry; I'll help you."

"Hey! Back off or I'll spork you!" Kaithey snapped, whacking his spoon with her own.

Genta leaned back, struggling to eat through the limps waving in front of her. "Kai, go away. …and that's a spoon, not a spork," she couldn't help but add.

The younger girl stared at the utensil for a couple seconds before reaching for her fork to place on top of it, "Hah, now I'll spork you!"

Genta rolled her eyes as Yuki laughed at her. "You mean you'll poke me with the fork-spoon." The green-haired boy corrected.

She frowned, chucking her fork at him. Not deterred, she proceeded to take out a sharpie from her jeans and started shading in certain areas of the spoon. " _Now_  I'll spork you!" She yelled, yet again.

"Kai! You're ruining restaurant property!" Genta snapped

"Plus that's s _till_ not a spork; it's just a normal spoon with the outline of a spork coloured on it."

With a huff of annoyance, she threw the spoon at him and his cheeky mouth. "Jeeze, picky, picky." Kaithey muttered under her breath, rummaging through her pockets again. "Ah-ha! NOW I'll spork you if you don't back off!"

Genta plucked the actual spork out of her hands. "That's getting old." She commented dryly, "Besides, Yuki already backed off when you chucked your fork and spoon at him."

"Ehh? Really?"

"Kai, you're an idiot to not have noticed that." The older girl deadpanned.

Yuki laughed, really nothing mattered as long as he knew his friends would always be here and never changed.

Kaithey rolled her eyes, "Psh, don't idiot me, you idiot. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you." She replied in a huff.

The brunette raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me? That doesn't even fit into context."

"Your face doesn't fit into context." Kaithey snapped back, but there was a spark of mischievous laugher in her eyes.

_Really. They **never**  changed._

"Oh? Your brain doesn't fit into context." Genta retaliated.

"Your house doesn't fit into context." Kaithey growled.

"Your nose doesn't fit into context."

"Your dog doesn't fit into context."

"I don't even  _have_  a dog." Genta retorted.

" _Exactly_."

Antonio looked up at the two, finally distracted from his plate of fries. "Seriously, why doesn't anyone use the normal 'your mom' counters anymore?"

Yuki shrugged, "It probably never even crossed their minds to start using something so _normal_." He teased.

"Hey! I'll have you know that was the  _first_  thing I thought of!" Genta lectured, "It's just disrespectful to throw in the person who gave birth to you in a petty argument."

The twin gave a snort, "Yea', well, we don' care! All she does is nag! Nag, nag, nag. 'Stop play'n vide'oh games all day'." Antonio mimicked in what the band could only assumed to be their mother's voice.

"'Do somethi'n productive, there's no such thin' as free time'." Matthew joined in.

"'Work harder! You're notha'n but second best'."

"'What's with all that racket'."

"'Stop runnin' naked around tha' house!'"

"'Stop shamin' tha' family name'."

"Blah blah blah." Matthew finished, grumbling through his food.

Genta rolled her eyes, "Oh fine." She said. "Matthew and Antonio's mom doesn't fit into context."

Yuki couldn't help but laugh out loud at her comment. "Really, you guys are all crazy, have I told you?"

"Hey, we resent that, M'lady!" The raven-haired Asian paused. "Uhh, you too, Yuki… I think." Because for all he knew, crazy was a complement.

"You-" Genta shook her head, "Argh, nevermind."

Yuki just laughed. Yeah, what was he afraid of? They would  _never_  change, whether they were in Japan or not. Things were going to be perfectly fine.

…

Of course, as luck would have it, as soon as he thought those thoughts, things slowly went downhill.

 

* * *

 

The chime of the café door rang as another wave of customers stormed in.

" _Oh, hey look, a foreigner_ ," a voice by the front door called out in Japanese. Yuki, with his back to the entrance didn't even bother to turn around as he continued to eat. They were most likely talking about Kaithey or Genta; it wasn't the first time.

The voices got closer as the chairs from the table behind him were pulled out. " _I did'n know there was 'nother int'anational tournament goin' on."_

" _Neither did I."_

Yuki blinked thoughtfully while chewing. Was duelling all those guys could think about? Didn't anyone know about the concert tomorrow?

" _They don' look so tough. I could totally beat 'em!"_

The green-haired boy frowned; that accent sounded awfully familiar. Who was-

"Yuki!" Antonio suddenly yelled.

The younger boy froze, mid turn. Was he caught eavesdropping? The lead singer rotated his body so that he was facing the twins again, pretending he  _wasn't_  just caught trying to sneak a peek at the strangers behind him. "Yeah?" he asked weakly. What happened to calling him 'Shorty' anyways?

The twins were uncharacteristically quiet, fidgeting and exchanging glances with each other in their seats in front of him.

Antonio finally shrugged, "Nah, not'in. Just warnin' ya that Mat was 'bout'ta steal your food."

Yuki glared at the other boy who chuckled lowly. "Oops I got caught?" he said. Something in his eyes flickered. "How 'bout I order more fer ya. To make it up."

"We don' mind sittin' here 'til late." The other one added.

Yuki stared at his almost-finished plate and rubbed his stomach thoughtfully, "Thanks, but I'm full. Let's finish up eating and walk around Kaiba Land for a while." He said, idly waving his hand over his shoulder towards the front door. "It's good to have a bit of exercise after eating."

The twins exchanged another glance. "What, feeling fat now?" Matthew teased half-heartedly after a pause.

Genta glared at the two across the table, "What have you done now?" she accused.

The twins laughed nervously. "Nothing," they chorused together. They seemed almost… panicky?

Yuki picked nervously at his food. "You didn't do anything to my pasta, did you?"

"No…"

The green-haired boy pushed his plate away. "Never mind, I'm done eating." He eyed the two raven-haired boys in front of him, still suspicious.

They jumped into the air before Yuki could even get up, shoving him into a headlock between them. "Let's go Shorty, make the girls pay!" They dragged him along, still clutching onto his head.

"Hey!" Kaithey pouted, cramming the last of her ice cream into her mouth, "I'm not the one constantly bragging about being filthy rich!"

"No we don't." Matthew retorted back. "…er, not anymore, I think."

"Well I recorded it when you used to go around bragging, and now I hear it every morning when my alarm rings."

Matthew snorted.  _Of course she would._  "We'll pay ya back." He yelled over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Yuki yelped, "What about me?"

"We'll pay for ya too."

He frowned, still trying to dislodge his head from their arms. "No, not that! Matthew, Antonio!" he whined, "Stop it."

There was tittering from the table behind him. Yuki blushed in embarrassment, remembering that they were not the only ones here. He tried to turn to them to apologise for the disturbance, only to have the twins pull him in even tighter.

"Guys!" He squealed. Unable to turn, he yelled "Sorry!" hoping they heard him. And just in case, he yelled a quick, " _Sorry!"_  once more in Japanese.

What he least expected was the soft " _Yugi_?" sent back his way.

The boy froze, resisting the twin's dragging. His head spun at the voice.  _His_ voice. How could he have not realized sooner.

His senses felt numb, tingling his skin as his mind seemed to detach itself from his head, leaving, fleeing the place like his body wanted to.

His hand moved on its own, trying to separate the twins blocking his path and view. "Move," Yuki heard his own voice say. What was he doing; the exit was the other way!

The twins let go of him, but refused to get out of the way. "Hinto-" they stayed between him and the speaker.

" _Yugi_?" the voice yelled again, getting closer.

Suddenly his breath seemed quite laboured – or had it always been like that?

"You can leave now," Antonio said in all-seriousness. Yuki felt his head whip up towards his voice, startled. "Pretend you never heard that. It was all in your head."

"You never say him, he never saw you." Matthew added in the same tone.

If it was… if it was Yami, his… classmates… Memories flashed through his head.

With a quick turn on his heels, the green-haired boy had his back towards them, facing the door. "Let's go." He said, voice threatening to crack.

" _Yugi Mutou!"_ The voice boomed. The café fell silent at the shout, and eyes swivelled towards them. Yuki felt at the center of attention again. But this time he wasn't on stage. And this time he  _really_  didn't want to be here; be seen.

Too late.

A hand reached across the twins, grabbing his shoulder. Yuki stiffened as Antonio immediately slapped down on it.

" _Aibou_?" an awfully familiar tri-coloured haired man whispered, rubbing his hand. Dark crimson eyes stared bewildered down on him.

Yuki's throat felt constricted. Why was Yami here? Why did he have to be here? Was he mad? Was he going to cause a scene? Here? In front of all these people? In front of his friends? Suddenly Yuki felt like he couldn't breathe anymore. Dark splotches seemed to swarm across his eyes.

" _Piss off, old man."_  Antonio snapped, hand held protectively in front of the younger boy.

Matthew tugged their band-mate's shorter arms, " _Come on,_  Shorty."

Yami frowned, " _But_ -"

" _You have the wrong person, man_." The twins chorused, not even sparing him a second glance.

The tri-coloured haired man blocked their path. " _Look here you two, I don't know what you're playing at. That's my aibou there."_

" _No he's not."_  Matthew shrugged him off.

" _Yes he is."_

The electric pianist rolled his eyes, " _Just because you're jealous I have a twin doesn't mean you can go pairing off with our_ Shorty _here."_

" _But he is-"_

" _Were you two born in the same womb?"_  Antonio interrupted.

" _It's-"_

" _No? Well, too bad! No twin, no aibous, no talky. Goodbye!"_

Yami's eyes flashed a golden colour, " _Now wait just a second."_  He raged. Shadows licked at the walls, his puzzle, partially hidden, shimmered under his leather jacket.

" _No wait; we're busy, busy men."_  Antonio protested. He eyed the golden puzzle nervously. Meeting the Bakuras gave him a healthy sense of paranoia against ancient accessories that glittered for no reason. Especially after he asked the concert guards what happened. Perhaps ignorance was bliss, as the saying went.

" _Yeah, busy kidnapping kids, right? You think-"_

" _Guys, STOP IT!"_  Yuki cried. He took calming breaths, trying to imagine himself standing in front of the stage. " _Yami_." He greeted succinctly.

The ancient spirit turned towards him immediately, " _Yugi. What's going on here? What? Who-"_

" _Stop it!"_

" _What? Yugi, what-"_

" _Yami, be quiet."_

An eyebrow twitched.  _"Be quiet? Be quiet? You run away from home for no reason, and now that you're back you just tell me to be quiet and not explain what happened?"_

" _What are you talking about? 'For no reason'?"_  Yuki retorted with a snort, " _You know just as well as I do what the reason was."_

" _You were overreacting! Ignore you? I would never do that!"_ Crimson eyes widened at the accusation, before they suddenly darkened as the owner thought back and then completely agreed with his Light's words. Yes, actually, Yugi had a perfectly valid reason.

The twins were too angry to care about Yami's internal battles.  _"Are you calling our little Shorty a liar?"_ They snarled in overprotectiveness.

" _You stay out of this!"_ Yami snapped.

" _Why? We know more about this than you think."_

" _I highly doubt that."_  Yami replied dryly, trying to dismiss the two.

The twins would have none of it.  _"I wouldn't bet your shiny golden puzzle on it if I were you."_

" _Whatever, we're not here to discuss that anyways."_ Yami responded.

" _Oh, boo, you've just been proven wrong. Can't stand it?"_

Crimson eyes flashed,  _"Who do you think you're talking to? I am a Pharaoh-"_

" _Shut it! Everyone, just shut up!"_  Yugi screamed. He held his hands to his head, twitching to clasp over his ears, " _Yami, did you just stop me just to yell at my friends? No? Then if that's all, we'll be leaving now."_ He said quickly, itching to turn around and walk away.

" _No! Wait, Yugi!"_ Yami cried. There was desperation in his voice that Yugi couldn't ignore.

" _What?"_

" _Look… maybe… I was- Well… I really missed you… And thinking about it, I-"_

The tri-haired Pharaoh never got to finish as voices cut him off.  _"Yami, what's going on over there?"_  A familiar female voice called from over by the tables. Chairs scrapped the floor as they were pushed out.

" _I- I, uh"_ Yami almost seemed at a loss of what to do.

" _Hey, Pharaoh, hurry up. Tellin' some kid ya sorry for mistak'n 'im fer Yugi shouldn't take so long_ _."_ Another voice yelled, coming closer.

" _But he_ is _-"_

The ancient spirit was cut off by the arrival of his friends _"Hey, it's that green-haired look-alike I was telling you about earlier. The one in that band."_ A brunette exclaimed,  _"Yeah, I remember there were twins in it. Huh, I knew they looked familiar."_ The girl laughed, " _Getting autographs, Yami?"_

" _We-"_  Antonio shook his head, " _He,"_  the boy corrected, looking pointedly at Yuki, " _looks familiar just because of that, lady?"_

" _Lady?"_ She repeated, taken back; how rude. But she refrained from commenting about that, focusing on his question, _"What, are you more than a band?"_ Tea didn't let the twins answer, _"Well, maybe if you were into Duel Monsters, I might recognise you. Of course no one's as strong as Yami here. He's the World Champion_!" The brunette gloated.

" _No really."_

" _What, you can't recognise him?"_  She tilted her head, studying the twins, " _No, you jealous? Nothing can compare to duelling! That's probably why you're doing a concert at duelling orientated amusement park, aren't you?"_ The girl grinned, " _Yami can teach you everything you need to know."_

" _Tea."_

The girl froze from the sound of her name from someone she didn't know.  _"Huh? How'd you know my name…?"_  The shorter boy's hair, green, stood out, but she forced herself to look at the face under it. Familiar violet eyes glanced warily at her, on a face that her brain recalled having more baby fat. " _Y-Yugi?"_  His unwavering stare gave her her confirmation. Tea eyed the boy before her. For a long time she was quiet before she murmured softly, " _You're in a_ band _now?"_

" _Tea,"_ Yami interrupted at last. _"Let me handle this."_

He looked up at his counterpart, mildly registering the fact that the other customers around them were being escorted out by guards, and the fact that Yugi's sides were flanked by two more strangers.

Yami took a deep breath, calming himself.  _"I guess I've not exactly been acting like a proper partner to you lately."_ He stopped, swallowing as words caught in his throat, " _I-"_ His hands felt sweaty. " _I apologise for what I've done to you. I should've realised it, but it was only after you were gone that it really hit me. I'm_ really  _sorry – I did – do- want to spend time with you. I never realised how little time together we had when I finally regained my own body."_

" _I'm sorry too."_ Joey added, looking mildly embarrassed.

Yami nodded, " _We all are…"_

There was sincerity in his crimson eyes. Yuki could feel his muscles relax as the man before him fidgeted nervously. Sincerely.

From beside the two, azure eyes looked distraughtly at the Pharaoh _, "Yami..."_

Yami stopped, _"Tea."_ He returned levelly before turning back to Yugi and continuing. Nothing would stop his self-belittling pleads for forgiveness.  _"I was too caught up in having fun to realise what I was doing to you. I never meant to leave you out of it, but I was free, no longer a spirit, or anchored down. I just wanted to do everything I could that I never could before. I'm sorry, but I never even once considered what I was doing to you. I won't – I swear I won't - do it again. … Will you…"_

Yugi stared up at the man before him, finally  _seeing_  for once since hearing Yami's voice. Well… not "up" exactly, Yuki realized, maybe with just a tilt of the head. He had finally grown taller over the year.

It was only then that Yuki realised just how long it had been since they'd last seen each other. What had it been now? Two years?

The green-haired boy suddenly realised that Yami was still staring at him, waiting for him to answer, having asked a question. What that question was, Yuki had no idea.

" _Could you repeat that?"_

Yami closed his eyes, as if bearing himself, " _Will you forgive me?"_  he repeated.

Forgive…

Half of Yuki wanted to. The other half didn't want them to just sweep everything under the rug with just a single word. He'd suffered from what they had done to him. It  _hurt_  so badly.

But… Close friends or not, they'd all stuck by him through high school. They hadn't always acted the way they did now. People changed all the time. Maybe he had been too observant … or even not enough, and then one day finally opened his eyes and everything just hit him full force. Who was to say he hadn't been overreacting?

And Yami – Yuki's eyes never left his face since the beginning of their conversation – he seemed sincere enough. And it  _had_  been years…

But… Just saying he forgave them seemed almost like the easy way out, but honestly, by now, Yuki couldn't stand it anymore. The clenching in his heart every time he thought about Japan, about duelling, his family, he just wanted it to end. Yuki just wanted everything back the way it was when everything was so carefree (except maybe the little problem of the fate of the universe resting on his shoulders.  _That_  he could do without). But at least then he wouldn't need all that self-encouragement just to be able to step foot in his homeland – his hometown, no less!

And it was easy – so easy to fix it all. Just a single word and everything would be all better again. Awkward, perhaps, but at least they'd all stop feeling like they were treading on landmines when they saw each other.

Yuki tried to place a smile on his face. Forgiveness? Yeah, agreeing would be for the better for all of them. " _I forgi-"_

" _Elephant. Poop!"_  Kaithey screamed, cutting his voice off.

Her voice shook Yuki, as the world suddenly seemed to materialize and grow around him. He'd been so focused on Yami, he'd never realised just when the café became so empty, or the fact that his friends had all congested protectively around him.

" _Excuse me?"_  Came the deep incredulous voice of Yami.

" _Poop. Cow. Monkey booger."_  The short Caucasian girl continued with the same violent anger. She stabbed a finger at Yami's face, " _You – you – you- s-stupid… lazy…_ Argh!" Kaithey threw her hands up in the air, frustrated at the fact she couldn't properly convey her anger towards the other man in Japanese. " _Purple bacon liver!"_  She screamed before dragging Yuki away from them.

"Kaithey!"

"Don't 'Kaithey' me!" she snapped as she shoved Yuki to the other side of the café with her. Her tone successfully stopped Yuki. "I may have needed the twins to give me the play-by-play to even understand what was being said, but that doesn't mean I didn't realise what you were going to do.

"Forgive them? Forgive them?" her voice grew louder every word, but she knew no one would disturb them. Their band members would not let the ex-friends near Yuki (or hopefully kick them out of the café all together). "You damn don't need to, or -or even _should_  forgive them! What have they ever done to make it up to you, huh, fancy words? There is a reason why there are wars in this world! Sorry doesn't fix everything!"

"And that's why I'm stopping the war before it can grow any larger." Yuki defended.

"A simple sorry doesn't cut it! 'I'm sorry for killing half your population because we wanted your land'." Kaithey mocked, "Will you forgive them just like that?"

"But they  _didn't_  kill half my population, and that's besides the point!" Yuki yelled, "I've had enough of creeping around in Japan from paranoia, or arguing them, or the stress from wondering what would happen if I see them again. I just want this over with!"

Kaithey drew her eyes into a glare, "They're stupid to think it'll end just like that! And that is a horrible reason to forgive someone!"

"No they're not, Kai." Yuki snapped, "Someone has to stop this or else we'll just keep going in circles and circles. It'll only get worse of left alone."

"And  _you_  have to be the one to stop it? They're selfish and don't deserve  _anything_!"

"Selfish? Maybe they were, Kai, but do you remember who approached who? Who told me they were sorry without any prompt? All  _I_  wanted to do was run away, and clearly that wasn't solving anything.  _Yami_  took the initiative."

"They started it!"

The green-haired boy stared bewildered at the girl, "And then they ended it! What more do you need? Do you  _want_  this feud between us to never end?"

"If that's what's needed, then yes! Why do you even need them?" Kaithey wouldn't back down her own argument, "There's us! Screw them! And that was  _exactly_  what I was going to say to them if they twins actually taught me  _how to swear_!"

Yuki growled under his breath, disbelief growing from her every word. " _You_  are exactly why wars start, Kaithey. What's wrong with forgiving people?"

"They don't deserve it!" she snapped back at him.

"And what do they need to do to deserve it? Grovel in the ground?" Yuki replied sarcastically. "You think that's going to fix anything?"

"Frankly they had their chance, and they lost it! Now they come crawling back to try again? What's to stop this from happening again?" Kaithey ask incredulously, throwing her hands up in the air.

"No one's crawling." The shorter boy interrupted, "We're people, Kaithey! We all make mistakes."

"Then stop making them!"

Yuki frowned, "You're being unreasonable now!"

"Unreasonable? Me? You are." Kaithey growled, gritting her teeth in anger.

"Do you listen to yourself?"

"Like  _you_  are any better!"

Yuki felt himself glare at her for her stubbornness. "So you never forgive anyone, huh?" he snapped, "I guess that means you won't be forgiving me for yelling at you, then?"

"No." Kaithey shouted at him, pointedly ignoring his existence in front of her.

"Fine," The singer snapped, "Don't forgive me." He stormed out of the café, slamming the door shut behind him. He didn't bother sparing a glance at anyone else in the room. His eyes stung and started to get blurry.

"Fine!" he heard the shout behind him. And honestly, by then, Yuki couldn't care less what _anyone_  thought, because he honestly  _was_  right no matter what Kaithey said. Someone had to forgive, or things would never end.

Why couldn't she see that?

…or was  _he_ really in the wrong?

 

* * *

 

Inside, Kaithey was fuming. "They're lying to him!"

"And what if they're not?" Genta asked, overhearing her rant as she walked over.

"Who cares? Yuki doesn't…  _Lucy_  doesn't need them anyways."

"Are you trying to monopolize him?"

"What are you talking about? I'm just saying he doesn't need them! What have they ever done for him?" Kaithey snapped. She spun her head, glaring at the spot Yuki's ex-friends had stood before she had grabbed Yuki away with her. The other teenagers had already been kicked out by Genta and the twins when she had been arguing with Yuki.

Genta bit her lip in annoyance, settling a steady gaze at the younger girl. "They were his friends once, whether you want to believe it or not. It's only natural they'd want to make up with each other."

"Well then, they shouldn't have pushed Lucy away in the first place then! It's their fault for saying such things to Lucy!"

Genta snorted, "Oh? And pray tell what did  _you_  just do a minute ago? Yell at Yuki? Tell him you'll never forgive him? Trying to force your own reasons onto him?"

"That doesn't count!"

"Oh?"

"It's just me! I mean, it's us! We're his friends!" Kaithey tried to correct herself.

Genta stared disbelievingly at her, "In case you've forgotten again, Kai, Yuki was  _their_ friend too. The world does not revolve around us – or you! People can have more than  _one set_  of friends. Don't make someone cut off their world just because  _you_  are selfish." She snapped.

"If  _I'm_ selfish, then they were selfish too!" The younger girl countered with a glare in her eyes.

"And  _they're_  also repenting." Genta interjected with a hiss, anger bubbling inside of her. She clenched her fist, trying to stay calm. "And quite honestly this has nothing to do with us. We were his support. We should trust his choice, back him up, and let him know that we had his back no matter what happens. And you, Kaithey, you just yelled at him, belittling his own decision and trying to force your ideals onto him."

Kaithey gave a bitter laugh, "Oh, and you were planning to just stand there and watch him make an obviously wrong choice?"

"What was 'obviously' wrong about it?"Genta shouted, restraints cracking, "I think the one who needs to think about their own decisions is  _you_. Go suck on a lollipop, Kaithey." She snarled, "Maybe that'll block your mouth for you. Having you ever actually tried keeping your thoughts in your brain long enough to  _think_  about them before they all come dribbling out?"

"Gen-"

"No." the woman snapped, "Close it and think. If you need me, I'll be at the hotel. Coming, Antonio? Matthew?"

The twins stared between the two girls, clearly disliking arguments or what felt like choosing sides. "Nah… We'll be… er- eatin'." They hedged, sitting back down at their table. "…er- again … yum food?"

Because, honestly, food was the only safe choice at that point.


	15. It's going to be okay, probably?

The concert. Was. Horrible.

Of course it was; the twins were used to causing havoc, not be self-nominated to be put on damage control! Genta was no help at all, unless you count her muttering conspiringly to herself under her breath. Kaithey refused to talk to anyone, choosing to chew and stab blank pieces of papers with pencils in frustration. Yuki fled whenever one of them came close.

The seats had been crowded. There were probably more people in Kaiba's stadium than they ever had for their concerts – or even expected to have in a venue full of (probably) music-ignorant duel monster geeks - and here they were, playing the worst gig in their life.

 

* * *

 

"That sucked." Matthew commented, slowly packing up his electric piano at the end of the concert.

"Hmm." His twin answered noncommittally, perched glumly on a chair beside him.

Matthew sighed, running his hand through his raven-black hair. Life sucked.

They were doing so well these past years. But then, they just had to come to Japan, didn't they? They shouldn't have agreed. And what were they thinking, coming over to Domino City so early? Everything that could've gone wrong  _did_  go wrong, and it was their entire fault for agreeing with that stupid plan!

If they had just waited until today before coming to Domino City, nothing would've happened! But no-o, they wanted some stupid food from some stupid café with stupid umbrellas.

They watched as Yuki sped out of the stadium as soon as their concert was over. He hardly spared his band-mates a second glance. Kaithey left not a second later, pointedly heading the opposite direction. Genta merely sighed, rubbed her temples, and ordered the twins to take care of their equipment before she left as well. If Matthew didn't know any better, he'd say the band was falling apart. …or, it was getting quite close to there, at least.

Maybe if Matthew and Antonio had tried harder to keep Yuki attention away when they noticed the other group coming into the café, none of this would've happened either. All they needed was five minutes to get Yuki out, to block his vision as he pasted the table behind them. But even that, they failed at. In trying to convince Yuki that nothing was wrong, they just  _had_  to embarrass the boy enough to make him call out. And wouldn't you know it, the other party just happened to recognise his voice. Seriously, what were the chances of  _that_?

Was their band doomed to failure? Would they ever be able to make it up to each other before they would be stuffed together in a cramped twenty-four hour plane ride tomorrow afternoon? With the way things were now, the tension would only get worse during the stuffy plane ride back home.

A laptop beeped from the corner of the room. At last, Matthew's eyes lit up, first time since the beginning of the long, dreadful day, "Com'n Darlin'!" he crooned half-heartedly.

Antonio rolled his eyes.

Antonio ignored his older twin's enthusiastic tapping, until he noted the continually present frown on his brother's face. "What's wrong?" he finally asked.

There was no answer until Matthew raised his hand in a beckoning manner, "Hey, bro," he said, voice troubled, "Come here fer a sec." He tilted his head pointedly at his laptop, website page opened wide on the screen.

Antonio cautiously walked over. He leaned over his brother's shoulder, squinting, reading. There was a pause. A moment passed. "Oh." Antonio said darkly into the screen. His face mirrored identically to the troubled look on his twin's face, if not more annoyed.

Matthew nodded at his words, "Oh." He agreed.

They were really starting to hate Japan.

 

 

* * *

 

"I don't see what all the hubbub was about." Tea commented as they left the Stadium with the rest of the audience. "I expected something more spectacular seeing as they were ranked so high."

Tristan nodded at her word, "Yeah, they seemed like a normal band. They didn't completely suck, but it wasn't like they were awesome either."

From the back of the group, Yami gave a small frown, almost looking guilty, "Maybe it was our fault?" he wondered out loud.

The three whipped their heads back, "What? Why are you blaming yourself for their concert? They're the once whose singing sounded off. What does that have to do with us?"

Yami ran a hand through his tri-coloured hair, "I suppose," he said hesitantly, "I just thought maybe our argument the day before might've affected them?"

The sole girl in their group shrugged indifferently, "If they can fall apart from such a small argument, they don't deserve to stay together." she said.

"Well…"

"Besides," The brunette continued, "Aren't they supposed to be professionals? If they can let something like an off day affect their performance, then they definitely don't deserve the title. That just shows they're nothing but kids trying to pretend to be something they're not."

Yami looked like he was ready to defend the band when Tea shook her head again. The girl looked pointedly at Yami, "Did  _you_  ever loose duels just because you weren't feeling well?"

The Pharaoh looked affronted at that statement, "I wouldn't duel half-heartedly; I wouldn't let down my monsters just because something was bothering me."

There was a nod. "Then they shouldn't sing half-heartedly." Tea concluded.

A soft voice, sounding almost uncertain spoke up from the group suddenly, "Well, ya know, I think a band might require m'oar teamwork tha'n duellin' does … Arguments might affect them m'oar than it would ta us… "

There was a pause. Tea glanced over at her group. The guys looked uncomfortable at the idea it was  _their fault,_ and if she was to be honest with herself, there was some sort of ache in her chest. With a frustrated stomp of her feet, the brunette suddenly caught their attention once more. "You know what? Or maybe they're just horrible to begin with." she offered idly before leading them away from the concert hall. That was always possible.

 

* * *

 

Yuki was pissed, and that concert they just held didn't help matters anymore. Kaithey was ignoring him, not that he cared any bit about that. No he didn't! Genta was dangerously anger, so he stayed away from her. As for the twins, Yuki didn't know what they thought about the whole matter, but what were the chances they'd be on his side? They were the girls' friends longer than they'd been his. Why would they  _ever_  consider taking his side?

So, as soon as the concert was over, he fled out of there, avoiding contact with anyone he could. It wasn't so hard, seeing as Kaithey and Genta were practically doing the same thing.

There was a sharp  _sting_ in his chest seeing how divided everyone was, but he skilfully ignored it – he had lots of practice ignoring the pain.

No one else cared about it, so why should he?

Slipping quietly into the crowd of Kaiba Land, Yuki sighed, allowing himself to be swept aimlessly with the crowd. There was no where he wanted to be. There was no where he cared to be. There was no one who wanted to be with him. There was  _nothing_ ; nothing for him here or anywhere.

Why couldn't he have figured this out sooner?

Why did he like deluding himself with fantasies that he actually belonged?

The sudden prickling sensation behind his eyes caught Yuki off guard. Why was this affecting him so much? It wasn't like he actually-

No. He did. He actually thought he would get a 'happily ever after' where all his friends would stay together,  _forever_  for once.

Oh, who was he trying to fool? Life was nothing but trouble. Load of rubbish, pathetic, stupid-

Yuki rushed, keeping his head down, and trying to control his sudden erratic breathing. He wouldn't – he  _absolutely_  wouldn't give in to his tears. Not to this. No. Why was it affecting him so-

 _Hic._  His hand shot up to scrub his eyes, feeling the first drop dripping. He wouldn't. He _wouldn't_  cry.

And would you know it, chanting that didn't help one bit.

Yuki rushed to the darkest room he could find, hoping to hide his tears from the world. He pulled the dark knit hat he wore as a disguise, as far down as he could, wishing it was big enough to swallow his face. He ran towards the stadiums, glad how the lighting of the area shone focally on the players and not the audience.

He was dimly aware of the battle going on before him, wrapped in his own misery.

He was crying for the longest time, but slowly, Yuki realised that he was … feeling better? The shouting in the background was so nostalgic. The roar of the monsters, the trust in the cards, the invigorating rivalries. In a matter of moments, Yuki lost himself into the world of duel monsters once more as he watched the game, engrossed in the fierce battle, and mind forgetting everything else.

" _\- I place this card face down in defence and end my turn!"_

" _Go_ Gaia the Fierce Knight!  _Destroy his_ Battle Ox! _"_

" _Ha, you just activated my trap card;_ Ma-"

A baritone voice cut through Yuki concentration, startling the young boy. He hadn't even heard anyone come up to him! "Well, well, look what we have here." the voice sniped.

It took a moment for Yuki to get his blank, shocked mind working. "K-Kaiba."

"Mutou." he returned civilly. "Why am I not surprised to see you drowning yourself in duel monsters?" the older man smirked, "Trouble with  _all_  your non-inanimate friends now?"

Annoyance flashed across Yuki face briefly, "Of course you know all about it." he muttered, mostly to himself.

Kaiba heard him anyways, "Of course I did. Where do you think you are; this is Kaiba Land. I own this place. I  _am_ this place." he said with a touch of oh-so-familiar superiority in his voice. "And, what do I see the moment you set foot in here?" he continued, "Why you, letting people step all over you again."

Anger bubbled within Yuki. He had enough. What gave Kaiba the right to lecture him? He wasn't even part of this! "What do you know!" Yuki exploded, yelling for all it was worth, "Who do you think you are?" the singer screamed, voice lost with the roar of the monsters, unashamed of the scene he was making. He didn't care. He just didn't care anymore. For what was probably the first time in ages, Yuki let it all out. "Don't you  _dare_  start with me too! This is my problem, not yours, and if you're just here to make fun of me, you can  _go away._  What right do you have to say that to me anyways?" he finished with a snap, huffing, short on breath.

Dark eyes stared unwavering back at Yuki, as calm as ever. It irked the green-haired boy how Kaiba had remained impassive his whole speech, but frankly, by now, Yuki had no anger left. Even if he wanted to yell at the older duellist, Yuki didn't think he could pull up anymore anger after the whole episode he just had.

For a moment, Yuki saw something flicker in Kaiba's eyes – was that  _amusement? –_  and then the man opened his mouth, "Hmm, 'what right'? I just thought you might have wanted some normalcy in your life, with things as they are right now." he drawled, an eyebrow arched.

Yuki paused, running the words through his mind.  _What?_  He considered the words ( _'some normalcy in your life')_ , and then suddenly, surprising even himself, he bursted out laughing.

_Oh._

Of course; it was so like Kaiba to be snarky no matter what was going on. It was  _so_ him. While everything in the world was going crazy, he could trust Kaiba to be the same; a consistency in his hectic life. Yuki giggled, unable to help himself. He didn't even know what was so funny anymore, but that thought only made him laugh harder.

It was his nerves, Yuki realised, feeling no longer capable of controlling his own actions. His body shook as he let out insane laugher, clutching his stomach. He laughed and laughed and laughed and then without warning, tears streaked down his face again.

This time Yuki let them run free.

* * *

 

Sitting side by side, watching as battle after battle were fought in the stadium, the two former classmates didn't speak a word with each other, eyes focused on the duellist in front of them.

Kaiba had sat down next to Yuki though his whole hysteria, professionally refraining from commenting about Yuki's crying.

As the day grew darker (not that they could see that inside the darkly lit stadium), and once Kaiba was sure all signs of sniffling from the younger boy beside him was over, he turned to Yuki, eyes serious.

"Mutou, go home." he said.

The shorter boy bit his lower lip nervously at the thought.

 _Home_? Did he want to be stuck in the hotel room with the three of them, anger fuming all around? "No," he said hesitantly, after a moment, "I don't want to see them. I can't face Genta, and the twins, and … Kaithey. They-" No, he was trying to fool himself again. The anger he could deal with; it was their stares, their eyes he wanted to avoid. What would he see? Disappointment? Regret they thought he was actually worth it? Pity for his past?

Silence clung to the air for a moment, before Kaiba shook his head. "No, Yugi," he enunciated, "go  _home."_

Yuki stared up at the other man, eyes blank.  _Home?_  New York?

" _ **Home**_." Kaiba repeated for a third time, eyes narrowed at him, as if glaring would help Yuki understand what he was saying.

The single word,  _home_ , echoed through Yuki's head.  _Home._   _HOME._ And then it clicked.

"But-"

Kaiba's look tore through any complaints the boy wanted to express.

Yuki tried to refrain himself from biting his lip again. Violet eyes closed, as he took in a breath.  _Home._   _GameShop._ His shoulders tensed.  _ **Grandpa**_ _._ His lips tightened, determined not to give into his feelings, as a sudden stab in his stomach ached as he thought of his Grandfather – the old man who'd practically raised in from birth when his parent left him there.

His heart  _ached_ , and he couldn't ignore it, try as he might. And he knew even Kaiba could see that.

"I-" his voice crackled, giving, "I don't-" And then Yuki couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't lie to himself, especially not when he'd been longing for his Gramps all year long. He'd been happy in the band, with his new 'family', but they weren't family 'family'. They'd never raised him, taught him everything he knew, comforted him from bullies, nightmares, and the boogie man. He really, really wanted his Gramps. "I'll go," Yuki murmured.

Kaiba nodded, "Good. Or else I would have had to threaten you to go as compensation for that horrible concert you performed." he said, and there was the faintest hint of a smile on his face when he said that.

 

* * *

 

 

Yuki's hand rose to the doorbell, finger twitching, as he tried to draw up the confidence the press down.

What was he doing here again? Gramps wasn't going to greet him with open arms; not after what he'd done!

His foot tapped rhythmically on the ground in a nervous twitch. He could always turn back now; it wasn't like Gramps knew he was here, right? He could go back to Kaiba Land … and then what? Endure a night with his annoyed bandmates? Regret this moment for the rest of his life?

Violet eyes narrowed at the thought. ' _Regret_ '. He'd done too much regretting for one lifetime. With a growl the boy stabbed his finger down on the buzzer. He'd be damned if he had to regret another thing.

Yuki took deep breaths at the door, trying to stick to his resolution even as he heard slow thudding coming closer and closer. The boy felt his mouth dry and throat close you as every second ticked by. He would not regret, he promised himself determinately.

And then the door swung open.

There was a silence as the two started at each other from either side of the doorway. Neither spoke, as if daring the other to make the first move. The green-haired boy could feel his palms sweating, and the world before him spun ever-so slightly.

"Yu-Yugi?" The old man finally stuttered out. His wrinkled arm shook, grabbing the doorframe to steady himself.

Panic coursed through Yuki. "Gramps?" he whispered. The old man looked much older than he'd ever been. His greying hair was now white. Wrinkles covered his face, and he'd lost weight, giving him an almost gaunt look.

Where was the jolly old man who'd always looked younger than he really was? The grandpa who was always up for an adventure? The grandfather who was able to be as energetic as ever even after being held hostage by Pegasus?

"Is it really you, Yugi?" a wavering voice called. Violet eyes glistening as they looked up towards the green-haired boy.

"I- It's- uh-" Words caught in his throat, seeing his Grandfather like this in front of him. Did he worry him that much? "Sorry. Yes. I'm so sorry, Gramps." he tumbled out. Yuki was pulled into a hug before he could finish.

"You're back." the man whispered out, so loving, so caring, Yuki couldn't help the small watering smile he gave back.

"I'm home, Gramps."

* * *

 

Somehow the scene of being pushed onto the couch, a plate of steaming dinner shoved into his hands, and a frantic grandfather standing over him lecturing, finger wagging in his face, him made Yuki giggle. Solomon Mutou stopped mid-point and watched.

"Gramps?" Yuki said when he realised the old man wasn't going to continue any longer.

The man closed his eyes, slowly lowering himself into the space beside his grandson, "I missed you, Yugi." he murmured, "I thought I wouldn't ever see you again."

Guilt stabbed at Yuki heart. Gramps sounded so old, so ancient when he talked like that. Fear darted through the boy. What if he had chickened out earlier? Would his Gramps be here alone, still worrying for his grandson until the day he died, not knowing a single thing? Was that anyway to treat the man who raised him lovingly?

"I- there was some issue I had to work out myself." Yuki muttered softly, to the ground.

There was a light smile on his Grandfather's face, "Well, we all have to have time to ourselves once in a while." Gramps justified for him, "I remember when I went out to Egypt on my own as a kid…" his violet eyes then suddenly softened, into an almost begging look, "But … Yugi, my son, what did I do?"

The green-haired boy felt his heart jumping in his chest, "What?"

"I did something wrong, didn't I?"

"No!"

"Yugi." Solomon said in disbelief. His tone was more than begging now.

"You didn't!"

"Yugi."

"It was me! I overreacted." Yuki cried, "Gramps, you didn't do anything."

Solomon was quiet for a moment after Yuki's exclamation. With a pause, the old man patted his grandson on the head, "Alright then, tell me what I  _didn't_  do."

"Gramps…" The boy began, but his grandfather would have none of it.

"Yugi Mutou, something clearly affected you to make you want to run off on your own. What kind of grandfather am I to have not noticed?" the old man demanded, "Please?"

Yuki stared at the ground. Nervous hand rubbed against each other, as he eyed his grandfather through his lashes, trying not to make eye contact. "It's nothing." he whispered. He saw disappointment flashed though his grandfather's eyes, and for a moment he was thrown back into the past, watching and listening to his Gramp's disappointed muttering in his mind's eye.

"I was jealous." Yuki suddenly snapped. The old man jumped at his tone. "I tried so hard, _everyday_! And Yami; everyone loves him no matter what. How can I compete with the _Pharaoh._  What am I without him? I'm not even half as good as him in duel monsters." He was rambling again, but he couldn't stop himself. "Everyone could see that. And the whole time I was  _deluding_  myself I wasn't as pathetic as I really was. But everyone saw. Why be with Yugi when Yami's so much better?"

"Better how?" Solomon cut in before the boy could degrade himself any further.

Yuki froze, "What?"

"How is Yami better than you? I don't see it. You are two different individuals. How do you compare people?" The old man demanded.

"Well, he's stronger than me for one. He's the duel monsters champion. He  _ruled_  over Egypt once.  _Saved_  the world a few times too." he said bitterly.

"And you helped save the world too, didn't you?" Yuki bit his lip as his Gramps continued on, "And what about  _your_  skills? And don't you dare say you have none."

The lead singer swung his legs on the couch, "I can sing." he said, feeling himself rub his cheeks in embarrassment, "and hmm, my English isn't too bad." he added softly. The boy looked up, running his life though his mind for a second before frowning again, "Oh, does it matter?" he retorted suddenly, "Everyone ends up with Yami in the end. Everyone loves him more."

"Yugi, that's not true."

"Joey, Tristan, and Tea! I thought they were my friends. We went through so much together, but in the end they chose Yami over me!" The boy jumped up, storming, "And heck, I wouldn't've even cared if they didn't choose me over him; I just wanted everyone  _together_  and happy!"

"Is this what this is about?" Solomon asked, his voice strangely tight. Yuki looked up. "Are you letting the opinions of  _three_  teenagers affect your whole life? Two of whom were  _bullies_  before everything?" the old man cried, "And when there's a whole world out there," he said, flinging his arm out, "filled with thousands more who most would beg to differ."

"I - I … suppose-"

The door rattled at that moment. Yuki's head shot up; Yami was home. A chill of panic spread over the green-haired boy, and Solomon almost froze seeing his grandson behave like that. The old man's violet eyes narrowed, grabbing the boy by the shoulders, "Come on, Yugi." he said, pulling the kid into the kitchen.

Yugi crouched behind the kitchen island, arms wrapped around his churning stomach. Suddenly he wasn't so sure he did the right thing coming home to the GameShop. He couldn't face Yami again, not after what happened last time.

A hand rubbed his back comfortably, "Don't worry," Solomon said with a smile as he got up, "I'll take care of it."

Yuki watched, eyes peaking behind a chair, as his Grandfather walked towards the door, intercepting Yami just as the door swung open.

Yami's crimson eyes widened as the old man appeared, "Oh, you scared me for a second, Grandfather." he said.

Solomon just smiled, "Where have you been?" the old man asked, glancing behind the Pharaoh.

Yami shrugged, "With the group at Kaiba Land. There was this … thing going on." He glanced down at the old man, eyes uncertain, debating with himself if he should tell the man that Yugi was back in Japan.

Solomon Mutou cut him off before he could decide, "Actually, Yami, would you mind spending the night with your friends?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Ahh, this old man just wants some time alone." he answered. "Old people are like that." he added as if it made a difference.

Yami looked concerned for a moment, even as Solomon tried to brush off his worries. In the end, the Pharaoh nodded, "If you're sure." he replied, eyes studying the old man, "Don't work yourself too hard."

Gramps smiled, shooing him off, "I'm just going to relax, Yami, not clean out the house. Now be a good boy and go." he dismissed.

Yami nodded, face contorted in mild confusion as bid the man a goodnight. He wandered down the path heading towards Joey's house. A moment later, Yuki emerged from the kitchen.

"Did you just kick Yami out of the house?" Yuki asked, feeling slightly detached.

"I did not!" Solomon huffed.

Yuki raised an eyebrow.

"Well, just for one night." Gramps corrected, "He's a grown man, Pharaoh and all. He can take care of himself."

"I can take care of myself too, Gramps."

The old man fixed a stern violet eye on him, "Perhaps, but you'll always be my little grandson. Clumsy, cute, drools in his sleep, hides candy under his pillow to eat at night-"

"That was ages ago, Gramps."

"- modest, makes sure everyone has a smile on their face." He ushered the boy out of the kitchen and into the living room once more. "Now sit," he said strictly, patting the seat next to him. Yuki felt like a kid once more, stilling on his gramp's knee and telling his grandfather about the monster under his bed. "… and tell me everything."

Yuki looked up at his grandfather who was staring so tenderly down at him, he couldn't help but smile softly. With only a mild hesitation, Yuki did tell, spilling his whole story to hear.

* * *

 

 

Strangely refreshed the next morning, Yuki waved goodbye to his Gramps, rushing out of the GameShop back to Kaiba Land.

He felt like a kid again; recalling how he used to cry his eyes out to his Gramps every night something happened, and the old man would pat him on the head and spout wisdom. 'Old man Wisdom', Yuki couldn't help but call it, the advice from an experienced old man.

For hours and hours after Yami was kicked out, Yuki and his Gramps sat on the couch just talking.

By the time he was shooed off to bed by his yawning Grandfather, Yuki was felt like the world was suddenly so much clearer to him. There was no one like his Grandfather. Kaiba was right to have forced him to go home. Everything seemed much better now.

Yuki smiled to himself, scourging through his pockets for his Kaiba Land pass to show the employee. He took three confident strides into the amusement park before a loud voice cut through his thoughts.

"YUKI!"

The boy froze.

"Yuki!" the voice screamed again with an odd mixture of panic, relief and anger undertone to it. The lead singer didn't even know that was possible to achieve.

Long arms wrapped around the smaller boy pulling him into a tight hug, squishing his face against her chest. Her perfume wafted around him. As she leaned down on him, Yuki could feel slight tremors in her arms.

"Can't … breathe…." he choked out, trying to crack a joke.

When her hands grabbed his shoulders to push him away so she could stare him straight in the eye, there was nothing but rage in her dark eyes as she glowered down on him.

"Gen… ta?" he greeted hesitantly.

"You IDIOT!" Yuki shrunk back at her words. "Do you know how worried we were?"Genta continued, voice almost hitting a shrilled tone, "We spent HOURS waiting for you! I thought you left us." Panicked fear crossed her face momentarily.

Yuki tried to dispute her worries, but the girl continued on her rant without giving him a chance. "It was getting so dark and you weren't coming back. What if you were kidnapped! I called and called, but you even left your cell in your room! And then all of a sudden we get a call from the front desk from Kaiba saying you weren't going to come back for the night. I had half the mind to call him in for kidnapping!"

The boy glanced nervously at Genta. The taller girl noticed and waved away his worry with a "Psh, as if I would challenge Mr. Kaiba, especially when he seems to care for you just as much as we do."

As Genta's rant seemed to slowly die down, Yuki looked up to the girl clearing his throat, wanting to explain things. With a deep breath, the guitarist calmed herself before nodding at the shorter boy. "Alright," she said, seemingly realising she was doing nothing but yell at him, "You can talk now."

"Alright… so, I went home," he began, then paused, suddenly at a loss of words. The next thing he knew, he was apologising. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't stand being in the room with everyone's anger just fuming all around." Yuki tried not to look at the older girl, feeling as though she would suddenly remember she was mad at him and storm off.

Her answer, instead, was calm. "We aren't angry," she stated.

"Tell that the Kaithey."

"She's not angry. She's just a snot-nosed brat lacking grey matter in her brain," Genta said succinctly. The guitarist sighed a moment later. "Kai gets like that sometimes – she doesn't think before she speaks. She's not angry; she's just really worried for you," Genta elaborated, trying to get eye-contact with the shorter boy, as if hoping that would help him understand better.

"Worried?" Yuki looked skeptic, and Genta really couldn't blame the kid.

Genta looked up towards the sky, taking in a deep breath, and looked at the past through her mind's eye. "Hey, you remember what Kaithey was like when you two first met?"

Yuki shrugged, "Hyper? Bipolar?" he said, "Screamed a lot around the house too."

"Now?"

"Same," he said immediately before he stopped to actually think about the question. No, it wasn't the same. Sure Kaithey was always up to crazy antics, but her insanity died down a lot as he got to know the girl better. In the beginning, Yuki remembering thinking to himself that he wouldn't fit in with such a wild, hyper group. That wasn't the case anymore. Everything seemed toned down.

Genta noticed his relevation. "Kaithey has – well, you can call it trust issues. It's true she's quite hyper, but some of it, sometimes, is an act. She doesn't like people getting close to her, and you know, her 'extreme insanity' throws people off – stops them from getting close." The burnette glanced down at Yuki, "Despite how she acted, you never left, played along, and even tried to get to know her better. And as we got closer, got to know each other better, she slowly dropped her act around you." Genta said quietly, in an almost reminiscing voice.

Yuki gave her a worried 'but why?' face.

Genta shuffled her feet nervously, "It's my fault, I suppose."

The green-haired boy stared confused. Genta tried to breathe normally. "To be blunt, my Grandparents hated me," she said suddenly. Yuki was then reminded how he still didn't know Genta's past. She'd offered to tell him when they first met, but never got around to it when Genta got too agitated.

The boy grabbed her arm, dragging the older girl to a bench where they could talk in peace. The taller girl smiled a soft thanks, continuing on her story. "My mom was Asian while my dad was full Caucasian. They fell in loved and married, but my Granparents – my mom's grandparent, I mean – didn't approve. They wanted my mom to marry another Asian." Genta frowned, remembering. "I supposed they only wanted what was best for her, thinking maybe she and the whole family would have a easier time connecting to another with the same culture," Genta defended them half-heartedly.

She paused a moment after that as if collecting her thoughts. "Anyways, so they had two kids; my younger brother and I. Obviously, my Grandparents loved my brother more than me. You know, the whole Asian thing where they love the sons best because they carry the family 're old, like really old. They supported the old, traditional way of thinking and all that." The girl added idly, waving her hand like she didn't care about the whole thing. Her dark eyes told a different story. "My parents didn't care, but my Granparents did. And the fact that my little brother actually looked Asian didn't help. I looked more like my dad than my mom." She added. "When my parents died, they took care of us. They clearly favoured by brother over me, and I grew up jealous, angry, and hating my whole family."

Genta sighed, running a hand through her long brown hair, trying not to let her story bother her, "I don't think my brother ever saw what was going and that only made me angrier. The angrier I was, the ruder I was to my brother, and the more my Grandparents hated me. It was a never-ending cycle." Genta looked nervous about saying the next part as she gnawed on her nails. "And one day … one day I pushed him off the top of the jungle gym in the playground." Yuki froze at her words, and Genta tried not to look at him, "He got a concussion, broken bone, and all that horrible stuff. My Grandparents absolutely hated me from that day on. My brother stayed in the hospital for a really long time. I thought I  _killed_  him." The girl cried guiltily. "My Grandparents separated us from that day on – they never let me near him. I couldn't even apologise properly. I think he knew that I purposely pushed him, or hell, maybe my Grandparents were spreading lies about me to him; my brother never talked to me after that.

"My childhood was like that for eight years afterwards, before I finally had enough. The moment I hit Junior high school, I ran away."

Genta looked lost in her own world before suddenly shaking her head, "Anyways," she said clearly, "The thing is, Kaithey was my only friend – the only one who would stick around me despite all the scalding insults I hurled at her from anger. She was the only one I would fill in about what was happening at home. I started to unload my problems onto her since an early age, and I think somewhere along the way, I made her unable to trust people after telling her just how evil some can be.

"She keeps everyone an arm's length away until she's certain they're okay. And she's protective of what little friends she has. She can't stand it when people hurt us."

Genta sent a begging stare at the shorter boy beside him, her tone and posture all but pleading, "Please don't be mad at Kai for what she said. I'll admit she was wrong at some points, but that was her anger talking more than anything. She just really,  _really_  didn't want them to hurt you anymore, and her mouth just went wild." Her long fingers fiddled with the strays of her skirt in an uneasy twitch, "I know I can't apologise for her, but at least know she's sorry, and the rest of us REALLY aren't mad at you. We miss you."

Yuki squirmed under her begging gaze, understanding building. "Actually," Yuki said, sounding more calm than he really was, "I've been running the argument through my mind over and over again for a really long time." He'd even told his Gramps about it and got some advice from the old man. It made him even gladder he went back to the GameShop last night. "I can see where she's coming from. I think she might've been overreacting a bit, but I can see she's genuinely worried for me. If  _she's_  not mad at me,  _I'm_  definitely not mad at her." the boy declared.

Genta smiled at that. "Trust me, she's not. She's repenting."

The lead singer nodded, spirits lifted at her words.

"And," Genta continued, "You're better telling  _her_  that instead of  _me_." There was a large smile on her face now. Yuki couldn't help but mirror that look.

"That being said," The girl said abruptly, suddenly serious, "I need you to get back to the hotel, stat." Her tone was all business, and Yuki knew his own face was seeping with confused at the hasty change. Genta tilted her head, brown hair spilling onto her almost grimacing face, "The twins have something important to tell us." She paused. " _Really_ important."

Yuki nodded. "Right, I'm going."

"Good." stated Genta. She was turning around already, "And now I have to find Kai. That girl's disappeared since this morning." she moaned to herself, running off. "I'll meet you back at the hotel."

Yuki nodded, staring after her retreating back. He tilted his head upwards, resting his eyes on a calm floating cloud, before snapping to attention. He hopped off the bench.

 _To the hotel then,_  the boy thought to himself with determination, somewhat nervously. He only hoped Genta was right with her own observations.

He wanted to make up with everyone soon.

 

* * *

Shuffling his feet along the ground, Yuki tried to prolong his journey back to the hotel room as much as he could. He ran over thoughts along his mind in the meantime, trying to organise everything. Gramps and Genta were both right … and as was Kaithey … for some parts, at least.

He had to apologise to the wild-haired girl. She clearly had been worried for him when she shouted all her concerns in the café that day. It didn't justify the two of them yelling at each other, but Kaithey merely had his best interest in mind.

Yuki knew he had to apologise, not only because it was the right thing to do, but also because he missed her; he missed everyone.

'Friends' barely described the bond he had with his band-mates. They were more than that – they were family. Yuki would not let such a strong bond fall apart just because of a simple fight. -Just because he was too scared to face them after the fight. -Just because he was a coward that ran away whenever someone tried to talk to him.

Yuki took in a deep breath, calming his nerves as the cool morning air rushed into his lungs. After apologising, it would be up to Kaithey. Whether she accepted his words, or threw them back at his face, he could only wait to find out.

But Yuki wasn't nervous. Despite all she had yelled at him at the café, he was confident Kaithey cared dearly for her friends. No matter what she had screamed at him, he knew that she felt the familial bond the band shared. Genta told him so as well.

Yuki trusted Kaithey. And he believed that was more than enough. Believing in the heart of the cards, or in the heart of a friend, it was the same thing. All that mattered was the faith he sincerely had for them. And for Kaithey, Genta, Matthew, and Antonio, Yuki had more than enough. He was nervous sure, but he had faith in them.

And that knowledge alone was able to sooth his own wavering heart.

Striding deep, deliberate, confident steps up to the hotels Yuki practiced breathing out steady breaths. He needed to trust. He needed to believe. He needed to face his problems head on. He needed-

Yuki froze mid-chant.

And speak of the devil; there Kaithey was,  _heading_  towards him.

Yuki watched, in a controlled panic, as Kaithey slugged over to him, dragging her feet with every step. She had her shoulder hunched, and hands shoved angrily in her pockets. Her face held an almost sulky frown as her blue eyes stared evenly back at Yuki's violet ones. The guitarist eventually halted in front of Yuki, after what seemed like a journey that took entirely too short to be possible.

Yuki trembled; he wasn't ready yet! His sweating palms scrubbed the thighs of his jeans, as his mind whirled dangerously fast, "Kaithey-" he started hesitantly, for a lack of anything intelligent to say.

His racked his mind for something suitable, something that could properly express his feelings.  _I'm sorry? I missed you? I don't like fighting with you? I like being friends? I take back my words?_

So many possibilities, but nothing seemed right. Yuki tried to hedge forward with his apology, but that wasn't necessary. "Kaithey-" was as far as Yuki got. Before the last syllable even made it past his lips, the girl suddenly thrust her fisted hand into his face.

Yuki didn't even have any time to react, as he could only stare straight on as her fist approached.

 


	16. It's my move now

Yuki blinked, as Kaithey's fist held suspended in the space in front of his face. He jerked his head back, finally, stumbling awkwardly backwards. "What the-" Yuki stumbled out as he stared at the crumpled piece of paper she held tightly in her closed hand. "Er… what?" The boy hesitantly took the offered sheets, torn between trying to make sense of it and trying to calm his beating heart.

It was only then that Kaithey looked remotely nervous. She dropped her hand, scratching her cheek nervously, purposely trying to avoid Yuki's eyes. "They're lyrics." She said simply as an explanation. Her blue eyes wandered to the ground, Yuki's sides, the view around them, but never on Yuki himself. She was nervous … and embarrassed, Yuki noted right away.

Yuki clutched the papers, daring not to unfold them yet. "Why?" he asked instead.

The girl glowered softly, chewing her lips. "Gen-Gen … Genta told me I couldn't talk." She murmured softly, "And so I sat. And thought. And wrote." She muttered moodily, scuffing her shoes on the dusty ground, looking as though she was about to bolt at any moment. "That's all." She punctuated.

Yuki turned the papers in his hand, inspecting the folded sheet before smoothening them out to be read. From the corner of his eyes, he saw red creeping onto Kaithey's face.

As he read, things suddenly clicked – it wasn't just lyrics, it was her reasons for her actions; it was Kaithey's letter of apology to him. His lips involuntarily quirked upwards. Yuki rubbed his arms self-consciously. "I'm sorry too…" he confessed, peaking up from under his eyelashes at the girl's face.

Despite the short apology, evidential relief flooded Kaithey's face. Her pained, worried look changed into a more familiar looking half-pout not a second after. "What," she mock-whined half-heartedly, "I give you songs, and you apologise? What happened to the typical 'thank you's?"

"I mean, thank you." Yuki corrected. A grin slowly blossomed on his face.

Kaithey smiled with him, but her absolute relief could not be hidden no matter how wide she tried to stretch her grinning face. "Just for you." She murmured happily. Her hand tugged anxiously on the bottom of her shirt, fingers in a nervous twitch. "And I'm really sorry too. I really should learn to think before I speak." She apologised directly, in a soft, almost inaudible voice full of regret, trying hard not to choke up.

Before things could start getting sappy, a dry voice cut in to interrupt them, "I see the kiddies have all made up?"

"Kaiba!" Yuki exclaimed. He looked around quickly, wondering how the man found them amongst the crowds, "Have you been stalking me?"

Seto Kaiba made a noncommittal noise from the back of his throat, smirk playing on his lips. "That aside," the man said ("So you  _have_  been!" Yuki grumbled in the background), "I see you've both managed to make up just in time."

Yuki felt himself narrow his violet eyes into a suspicious glare, "Just in time for  _what?_ " he questioned.

The businessman arched an eyebrow. "Your concert?" he replied.

"Er-" the green-haired boy looked confused, "I thought you were joking about forcing us to make up for yesterday's horrible performance…"

Kaiba's face didn't change, "You never heard?" he quizzed, before sighing as he watched both Yuki and Kaithey shake their heads. "Don't you kids have cell phones? You know, those black boxes everyone carries around to communicate with, nowadays." He muttered scaldingly.

Yuki patted his pockets, "Left it in the hotel, apparently." He said honestly.

Kaithey brandished hers out quickly, "It's out of batteries." She said without missing a beat.

"Of course." Kaiba stated, knowing better than to be surprised. He drew out his organiser from his inner breast pocket of his jacket, ignoring the two before him. "PIE has been scheduled a concert two days from now  _here_  in Kaiba-Land. Same place." he read.

Yuki stared, bewildered. "What?" Was  _this_  why Genta wanted him to hurry back to the hotel? He though she just wanted him to pack up quickly before their flight left that afternoon.

"You booked for us again, Mr Kaiba?" Kaithey asked with uncertainty.

"Of course not." The man said without a hint of hesitation. "Someone is booking out my venue for a concert."

"Which just happens to be ours?"

Kaiba shrugged uncaringly, "It surprised me too."

Violet eyes studied the taller man. "Are you sure it wasn't you?"

Kaiba gave a low chuckle, "What, don't believe me?"

Yuki didn't even bother to look sheepish at the businessman's words. "After all you've done?" the lead singer said pointedly. The reason why he was back in Japan was due to Kaiba, after all.

The burnet smirked shamelessly, "Not this time." he said. Kaiba took a glance at the organiser. "Although, if you're interested, I  _can_  tell you your dear fan this time is another electronic corporation, similar to mine." He shrugged off Yuki's stare, "I don't own it, if that's what you want to know. They're, I suppose, what you would call a rival company – of course, not as successful as my own."

Yuki laughed with a snort, "Everything is, compared to Kaiba Corp; you're  _first_."

"True." The man admitted, "But they're close."

Yuki rolled his eyes, "That helps," he said sarcastically, "So, second, then?" he laughed.

Kaithey frowned, interrupting them, "What I want to know is if the concert is really confirmed… like  _confirmed_  confirmed." She clarified, "I mean, everything goes through Jianyu before it gets to us, and he  _tells_  us about it wa-ay before it happens! I don't believe he would accept something so quickly, especially just two days after our last concert. Unless you're telling me he  _forgot_  to tell us!"

"It was completely last minute." Kaiba scowled, turning to the fiery-dyed-haired girl, "Do you want a recorder phone call for proof?" he asked dryly.

"I'm just say'in." Kaithey muttered sulkily.

The man shook his head, "Shouldn't you two be practicing now?" he asked with a smirk. "I would prefer not to have my stadium filled with horrible music  _twice_."

"Real funny." Yuki muttered under his breath.

"Anytime."

 

* * *

 

Fueled by curiosity from Genta's statement and Kaiba's words, Yuki and Kaithey wasted no time going back to their hotel room.

The two PIE members rushed back into the hotel banging on their room door. It opened. A frozen face stared at the two, onyx eyes flickering back and forth between them. "What's ta password?" Antonio whispered.

"Jeeze, Hinto, let us in; we've made up." Kaithey whined in annoyance.

Emotion leaked back on the boy's face. "Oh," he said, "It's all good th'n." The twin opened the door wider, "Welco'me back."

"What," Yuki began, "Were you going to lock us both out until we made up?"

"No." one twin said just as quickly as the other said "Yes."

Yuki didn't even bother trying to guess who was who as the two twins glared playfully at each other. "Right." he said.

The next thing he knew, he was thrown down in a flying hug from the two boys, who had snagged in Kaithey along the way. "Don't ev'a fight agai'n!" Antonio muffled out within the group hug.

"It was an accident!" Kaithey insisted.

"How do ya fight accident'ly?"

"How should I know?" The girl shrugged. She glanced over at Yuki whole sent a smile; a genuine smile, back at her. Kaithey's whole demeanour seemed to change suddenly, knowing Yuki truly wasn't mad at her anymore. She was the good ol' Kaithey Yuki knew and loved once more. "Jeeze I swear, they're spiking the air here with something!" she cried playfully towards the twins.

"The AIR?" There was a snort, "Really, an' why aren'  _all o_ f us affected, th'n?"

Kaithey gave a sniff and flipped her long red-orange dyed hair across her shoulder in a mock all-important manner, "I have a sensitive nose."

They boys shared a look and burst out laughing together, feeling better than they all had the past day.

Kaithey scowled at them, "Hey, it's true! I can differentiate my chocolate brands by smell!"

"An' by peek'n at 'ta labels." Antonio added in a hoarse whisper.

"Not true!" the girls denied in a horrifically innocent tone. Yuki couldn't help but give a snort of laughter at that. " _Lucy_!" the girl whined.

"ANYWAYS," the lead singer shook his head, green hair dancing around him, "What was so important that you sent Genta all around gathering us for?" he asked. Genta  _did_  say it was REALLY important.

The twins shot each other a look, conveying a silent conversation with just stares. Matthew nodded. "Righto, but now she's not here. We need'ta first get m'lady back so we don' hav'ta explain this so man'ny times."

Kaithey jumped up. "I'll find her." she volunteered.

"An' then how will we find  _you_ in case Genta comes back 'fore you do?" one of the twins grumbled, annoyed.

"Then you send Lucy out to find me." The girl stated seriously, nodding her head to herself.

The same twin scoffed again, "And th'n how do we find  _him_  if  _you_  com' back 'fore he does?"

"Then you send Hinto to find him."

Exasperate hands rubbed his face at that statement, "An'  _AGAIN_  how do we find  _him_  if _Yuki_  or you comes back 'fore  _he_  does?"

Kaithey rolled her eyes at his frustration, "Aren't you twins? Just use you magical twin powers to communicate."

There was a paused of silence. And then, Antonio practically growled at her, tone dripping in sarcasm, "Jee, why don' we use our magi'al twin powers to contact Genta instead."

"Can you do that too?"

"Kaithey, I don't think you're getting the problem here…" Yuki started, sensing Antonio's annoyance levels rise a bit too rapidly for his liking. He was stopped by a hand held in front of him. Yuki glanced up, seeing Matthew give him the 'I'll explain it to her' face. Reluctantly, Yuki nodded.

In all seriousness, Matthew shot a stare over at his twin, calming his brother down. He then turned to the guitarist. "Kaithey," he said, "I'm 'fraid you don' understan'." Yuki nodded with the boy, hoping Kaithey would see some sense after Matthew explained it to her. Matthew continued, "Twin powers are serious things. We can't be frivolous and use 'em like that whenev'a we please."

"Oooh …" The girl sounded as though she just had a revelation.

The older twin nodded solemnly, "We travelled great dis'ances and fought powerful monks in order ta obtain this power. We swore we would only use our supreme powers in th' face of evil and great des'ruction."

Kaithey looked awed.

"Th' forces of evil," Matthew continued with greater grandeur, "are serious enemies. Our magi'al twin arts can slay through beasts, but we must conserve and –"

"Okay, okay," Yuki interrupted, giving Matthew a disappointed shake of his head. "Never mind your epic twin powers; can we just find Genta now?"

The boy grinned cheekily back at him. "Fine, don' believe me."

Kaithey frowned, "So if getting to twins to telepathically talk to Genta is out of the question, what else is there?" There was a defeated sigh in her voice, "So then what do we do now? There's no way to get Gen-Gen back."

Yuki stared at them, hands already rubbing at his temples for his building headache. Is this what happens if he left them alone? These three likely couldn't even support themselves without the sane role model that was Genta and himself. "Can't any of you, I don't know,  _phone_  her? You know, amazing devices called cellphones?" As Kaiba lectured Kaithey and himself not too long ago.

"Oooh, right!" the three of them echoed together.

A small twitched developed on Yuki's temple, "This must be how Kaiba felt like." he muttered to himself with an exasperated sigh.

"Nah, I don' thin' Kaiba's ever felt short." Yuki glared at him, and the boy gave a nonchalant shrug back. "What? It's true, I bet." Antonio cried.

"That is not what I meant." the lead singer gave them all a playful scowl, "And why aren't any of you phoning?" he demanded.

"Jeeze, I get it alrea'de!" the other boy sulked as Kaithey snickered at him from the side.

 

* * *

 

The door opened with an audible click as the door was unlocked. A mob of brown hair peeked in as Genta surveyed her bandmates in the room. "Twin one and two, Yuki," she greeted. Her dark brown eyes lingered at the multicoloured form of the guitarist beside the three boys.

Said guitarist pursed her lips, "We made up."

Genta nodded, "and Kaithey." she finished greeting, finally stepping into the hotel room.

Yuki arched an eyebrow at them. "Is that a secret phrase now? No one enters the room until that's said." the boy noted.

Genta shrugged idly, "I just wanted to make sure." she said in an unconcerned drawl. "I don't know why those two jokesters wanted to hear it though."

The twins gave a pouting scowl. "What, can't we worry too?"

Genta shrugged, "I'm surprised you worry about anything besides your laptop." the brunette admitted matter-of-factly.

"I don' have a laptop ta dote on!" Antonio protested.

"My brain cannot comprehend the fact that there are two of you." Genta deadpanned dismissively. "So the problem?" she continued before the younger twin could throw a tantrum. "You told me to gather everyone for it, so I assume it's bad."

Matthew nodded. "Rela'ively so." he agreed. "Behold, my Beloved!" Matthew cried to Yuki, who was sitting closest to him, brandishing out his opened laptop.

Yuki froze momentarily. "Are you referring to me as your Beloved," he asked, "or your laptop?"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "What do ya thin'k?" he shot back.

"Hey, just checking!" the shorted boy called out, hands held up defensively. You could never be too sure.

An arm crushed around his shoulders, "Aww, is that disappoin'ment I hear in ya voice, Shorty?" Antonio crooned. Beside him, his twin shot Yuki a glare, snuggling his laptop closer to himself possessively.

Yuki shoved the boy's face away from his own, with a roll of his eyes. "Right. Forget I said anything. You were showing us?" he directed at the older twin.

Onyx eyes squinting as if judging his motives, Matthew studied the green-haired boy intensively before nodding and holding out his Beloved once more. He enlarged the opened website, and then both twins' faces fell serious.

"This is … ?" Genta asked, unsure.

Yuki recognised it suddenly, seeing all the pictures of duel monsters covering the background. "A Duel Monster's fan-site?" he guessed.

Dark eyes flickered as the twins stared at it, "Yeah, but more importan'ly," Matthew moved the cursor, clicking on a link, directing them to the forums. Immediately, topics jumped in front of their eyes.

 

 _Threads:_  
-King of Games confronting the lead singer of a band!  
-Imposter looks like Yugi Mutou!  
-Copycat look-a-like trying to use King of Game's fame!  
-Wannabe failure!

Yuki shook his head, mind thrown into a daze even only after reading the title of just four of the most popular topics being discussed. He took a breath, "Can you click on the first one?" he asked, almost dreading his words.

Matthew sent him a pitying glance, but did as Yuki asked.

 

_Post by Duel23: "So today, I was at the Umbrella Café, and then I suddenly heard a shout. It was Yugi Mutou, King of Games! I was going to get his autograph, but then I noticed he was arguing with some kid with green hair. He looked so much like Yugi too if it weren't for the colour of his hair. Seriously, if that kid (who happens to be the lead singer of a band performing tomorrow apparently) didn't have his hair tied back, they could've been twins! The kid had tricoloured hair (green, darker green, and silver) undoubtedly dyed, dressed like Yugi with all the leather and stud accessory, and talked the same manner. I swear, that guy was trying so hard to copy our famous Duel Monsters Champion! No wonder Yugi Mutou was yelling at him."_

_Post by Heroheart: "Dude, really? Lame. What were they saying? Did you hear them?"_

_Post by CelticGuardianman17: "It kinda makes me want to go to the concert just to see how much they suck now. Seriously, who do they think they are, imitating Yugi and trying to use the Champ's fame to boost up their own sales?"_

_Post by Duel23: " @Heroheart: I don't know, I wasn't sitting close enough to hear. And they guards came in to escort all of us out when the yelling finally got loud enough.  
@CelticGuardianman17: I know, right?"_

_Post by ThewinnerYEAH: "Hey, what's the band called?"_

_Post by MahMagicianGirl: " @CelticGuardianman17: True true!"_

_Post by Lovelykitten2meow: "No fair! I wanna live in Domino City too! Why don't we ever get to see stuff like that here?"_

_Post by FisherP: "I was at Kaiba Land too. I saw people being pushed out of some café by these huge guards. Was that what was going on? The band's something like Pie or something. Weird name. I feel like going to their concert just to see how they're like now."_

_Post by Orange_submarine: "Chill people. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery or something. It's not like he's going out killing people dressed like Yugi Mutou. Idiots."_

_Post by Duel23: " @Orange_submarine: You chill. The Champ was clearly yelling at him. He obviously didn't like it!  
And come on, people! If they were good, then why would they need to pretend to look like the Champ to get fans?"_

_Post by …_

Yuki groaned into his hand in annoyance. He could tell why the twins were so irritated. And he could feel Genta and Kaithey beside him, fuming mad as they continued to read on.

"An' there's more." the boy said, pointing to the other tabs he had opened. "The latest ones seem ta be talkin' 'bout an impos'ta disrespec'n Kaiba at his own theme park?" he stated, an eyebrow arched.

Yuki's face heated up. "Oops?" he muttered in a grimace.

"That gave all the fans m'oar fuel to th'a fire."

The green-haired boy bit back a swear, as he shuffle his feet on the ground, trying not to punch anything in frustration. "Sorry." he murmured, "I didn't think anything like this would happen."

"No, it's not your fault people are gossiping fools with nothing better to do." Genta glared at the screen of the laptop, as if hoping she could develop a heat ray to melt the vile object. "I  _hope_  the two of you didn't just show this to us without some sort of plan?" the girl directed at the twins, teeth clenched in anger as she spoke.

"Duh." they chorused. Cue eye rolls from both twins.

Yuki frowned slightly, as a thought struck his mind at that moment. "Is that why we're doing another concert?" he asked curiously.

The two boys looked shocked, "How'd ya know 'bout that alread'y?"

"We," the short boy gestured towards Kaithey and himself, "ran into Kaiba. And he told us."

Antonio pouted, "Well th'ar goes our drama'ic reve'al." he muttered sulkily to himself. "Kaiba ruins  _everyth'an_." Yuki's question of what else Kaiba ruined for the twins for them so sound so broodingly was interrupted by Genta's question.

"It's an amazing coincidence to get another concert right away, to blow away all those retched accusations." Genta commented, a note of wonder in her voice.

Matthew smirked with a sly wink, "We've got connections." he said with a finger held up to his lips in a secretive manner.

"Mother's goin' to be so mad when she finds out we used 'em on such a 'trivial' problem, though." Antonio muttered to his brother. His tone showed that he didn't support their mother's view.

"Of course; she hates our band." the other boy answered in a low bitter voice. Somehow, Yuki believed they weren't supposed to hear the two of them muttering to each other. The two girls, turned away and pretending not to overhear them, proved Yuki's suspicions correct.

"So are we going to be practicing or what?" Genta said suddenly, turning back on them.

The twins seemed to jump at her voice, "Oh, yeah. Duh, m'lady. What do you thin'?" they asked with a roll of their eyes.

"Really?" the older girl shot scalding back at them, "Because all I see is you flabby mouth moving, and no music. Unless, of course, you're planning to sit here for a couple decades until talking becomes a form of music. But I'd rather not sit here and watch you age."

Matthew fluttered his eyelashes at her. "Aww, you know you wan'na watch us." he leered.

Antonio blew a raspberry. "Fine; to th'a equipmen' we go!" The band members clambered towards the door, heading back to the stadium where their equipment was still being kept. "We're going ta give 'em th'a best concert of our lives and shut up all those jealous fans!" the boy cheered as he hooked as arm across his brother's shoulders.

Yuki smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets as he followed his friends – his family – out of the hotel. He definitely missed this. As his hand brushed on Kaithey's folded lyrics, where Yuki had shoved in to keep safe, a sudden thought entered his mind.

"Hey, I was wondering," he began, a little shyly. The band glanced back at him eyes shining with curiosity. "So …" Fingers pulled out the folded lyrics, tugging at it to straighten it out in front of them, "What do you think about a new song just for this concert to spice things up?"

 

 

* * *

**Two days later:**

Backstage of the concert stadium once more, Yuki tried to control his breathing as he paced back and forth, trying to calm his nerves.

This was going to be one of the most important concerts of his life. They were going to show the audience they were wrong about PIE. They  _are_  a good band – they best, in fact. Yuki was determined to make all those trolls and flamers eat their words.

"Hey hey," Antonio cried, his hand already ruffling up Yuki's tied hair. "Don' look so stiff."

"Easy for you to say," Yuki scowled at the other boy, but there was no heat behind his words or glare.

The younger twin smiled at him, "Nahh, com'on, do what ya always do; stare out at the dark crowd or some'hin'. Or what I do; chew on m'ah drumsticks." he paused, "Or better yet, do both!" He tried to shove his wooden drumstick into Yuki's mouth.

"Eww!" The smaller boy scrambled to back away, "those were in your mouth!"

"No, those were in my pants." the twin corrected. Yuki's mind froze, and it only took a second before Antonio noticed why. "Eww; and m'lady calls  _me_  a pervert! I mean' in my pockets! They're new; I haven' chewed on 'em yet!"

Yuki frowned skeptically at the taller boy as Antonio continued to laugh and protest at the same time.

"Really!" the younger twin cried.

Yuki let out a small sigh, rubbing his eyes in exhausted nervousness, "Sorry; I'm just worried." he admitted faintly.

"Nah, we all are." the other boy grinned.

"When are we never worried before  _any_  concert?" Kaithey commented.

The Hintos nodded with her. "It'll all be fine." Antonio said, teasingly patting Yuki's head like a little puppy. "You've got us."

Matthew nodded, taking over when his brother withdrew his hand. "An' as those fluffy hat'ed men say –"

The twins intoned together, "All fer one-" they started, looking eagerly at the others to finish with them.

"- and one for all?" Yuki finished in a cry. He paused when he was the only one who did, looking at the rest of his bandmates accusingly. Matthew and Antonio shared Yuki's sulking look as they glowered at the unenthusiastic girls standing beside them with their arms crossed.

"What?" Genta deadpanned from the side.

"You ladies just ruined our w'hole mo'ivational speech."

The taller girl rolled her eyes. "It was only one sentence. Not a speech." she droned.

Antonio and Matthew shared a look with each other before turning back to the older girl. "Yeah, well, if ya'd joined in-" Antonio began.

Matthew continued, "-it would've sounded so-"

"- _so_  much coo'la."

Kaithey rolled her eyes, "Look, Hinto," she said strictly, "Like no way I'll say it. Have you seen their long pointy goatees? I don't want a goatee!"

The boys shared a look of confusion. "Er, what?" Matthew finally choked out.

"I don't want a pointy goatee!" the girl whined again.

"You won' grow one just fer repeating th'a famous phrase."

"Says you!"

"De'ya see a goatee on me?" Matthew asked, bewildered.

"Come two years, at  _least_  if not already, and you'll be sprouting bristles from your chin." the girl said definitely, glaring at the boy, daring him to lie to her.

"Through natural process, I assure you, Kaithey. It won' happen ta you."

"How do you know?"

"Because yo'ru a girl?"

"What does that have to do with beards?"

"M'lady?" the older twin asked, sending a begging look to the older girl.

Genta snorted, grabbing a Matthew's laptop away, and scourging the net diligently, despite the boy's protests. "Goatees look nice as long as you keep it short and neat."

"Lovely how this mo'ivational cheer has becom' a beard debate." Matthew muttered under his breath at Genta's lack of help.

Antonio frowned at the older girl. "I expec'ta you to join in wit' our pep talk." the boy sulked.

"Someone has to be the sane one here." Genta stated dully without turning around.

"What's insane 'bout mo'ivational speeches?" the twins grumbled out incredulously.

"Sentences. Motivational  _sentences._  Not a speech." The girl shot over idly, engrossed by the laptop.

"An' completely sane, logical, and encouragin'." Matthew challenged, pout still present on his lips. His childishly crossed his arms, sulking. And perhaps felt slightly betrayed by his Beloved on Genta's lap.

Genta rolled her eyes, muttering things under her breath as she shoved the boy's laptop back under his chin. "Whatever," she said, "Same difference." She tapped her watch. "And it looks like we should be getting ready." the brunette added, drawing the band's attention to the time.

"Oh, right." Yuki nodded. He glanced at his friends from the corner of his eyes, smiling to himself despite his churning stomach. As long as they were together, it would be fine, right?

The five of them stood by the sides of the stage waiting for their cue to walk on. "Let me do the introduction." Genta said sweetly as she walked by Yuki, reaching her designated spot.

There was a slight chill that ran through him at her expression, but surely it wasn't going to be  _that_  bad, could it? This was Genta, after all. "Er, okay." Yuki answered hesitantly.

The girl nodded, "Great." she said, and then the band was called out onto the stage.

 

* * *

Bright lights blared from overhead, flashing in a hype manner. Genta bared her teeth in an odd, toothy grin and grabbed the mike from where it had been set up, out in the front. "Hello, Domino City. Again." she said softly in Japanese, almost  _too_  sweetly, voice carrying over the whole audience. "Thank you all for coming. Can I just say, I think you're all ignorant fools, deluded by the hysteria of peer pressure. I abhor your type, and you repulse me to –"

"Woah, woah!" Antonio cried over her voice. "Grab her mike!" he directed over at Yuki.

The boy nodded, and immediately tried to snatch the microphone from her hands. He failed, of course, being shorter than the girl. Instead, he rushed back over to his spot on the floor, and turned on his own mike. "What she meant is…" Yuki trailed off, looking at the twins for guidance. The two just shrugged back at him, as Kaithey whipped her head furiously back and forth between them trying to understand what was going on. "I don't really know what she meant." Yuki concluded at last in defeat.

The silence hush in the audience was rather disconcerting, considering this never happened before.

He turned a glare at Genta who widened her eyes innocently back at him, "What?" she said to him before looking out into the crowd, speaking into the microphone, "Did I say something wrong?" There were horrible inflections and pauses, Yuki knew she didn't normally have in her sentence. Her vocabulary was considerably simpler than usual as well. "I searched on the internet for greetings, and that's what came up." she said, voice just oozing with innocence. "Is something wrong with it?"

Around them, chattering seemed to erupt again, hearing that it was merely a misunderstanding. Or maybe they didn't believe her, and were staring up a riot. Either way, none of them on the stage could make out what anyone in the crowd thought. All they could hear was a sudden, loud rush of voices and movement below them.

What they could see, however, especially Yuki standing right beside Genta, was the sadistic glint in Genta's eyes she couldn't cover up. Her face was coated with innocence, but her eyes showed nothing but pure evil.

This wasn't the way he wanted to start the concert out, but too late now. At least Genta got everything out of her system, the protective older sister she was. Yuki coughed distractingly into the mike. "Anyways," he cried, faking cheeriness, "Mistakes and horrible translating sites aside, this is a concert, isn't this?" the lead singer prompted the crowd, eager the move on the safer topics.

"Let's give 'em music!" Antonio cheered from the back.

The crowd, perhaps not as loud as they wanted it to be, yelled with the drummer. The younger twin raised an eyebrow over at Yuki as if urging him to continue. So he did.

"Well now, how about starting with, ' _This is Our Lie'_?" the boy bellowed out.

There was cheering below as the audience obviously agreed with his idea. Behind Yuki, Antonio's drum beats sped up, knowing what Yuki wanted. Genta gave the lead singer a quick apologetic grin before face falling serious as she focused on supporting the song. Her fingers strummed the guitar as she concentrated.

Yuki took a look at the crowd, and then turned around and faced his fellow members. A sudden feeling of calmness washed over the green-haired boy as he felt so  _right_  standing here, as he always did every concert he performed.

What was he worrying about this morning? Everything would be fine if he just performed as he always did. And if it wasn't what more could he anyways but sing his heart out, putting all his feeling into every song?

This wasn't about what other people thought, but how much he – they, the band – loved performing together.

With a brilliant smile, hands holding up the mike, Yuki closed his violet eyes, and drew up his emotions from within, and then just  _sang._

* * *

 

As the hour slowly passed by, the audience became louder and louder, cheering PIE on.

Yuki panted slightly, feeling his energy slowly giving away as the concert was coming to an end. He took note of the time, knowing they could sneak in one more song before the finished up the concert. Glancing out the corner of his eyes, he caught the attention of the rest of his bandmates, who nodded knowingly at him.

Yuki turned back to the audience. "It seems like we have time for one more song before this is over. As an apology for our language problem earlier today, we have just the song for you!" Yuki spoke with a grin into the mike, eyes shining in delight. "Curious?" he teased. "It's going to be on our next album, and sung as a special bonus for all of you today. It's called ' _Pieces'_!"

If the audience were confused, or utterly excited, Yuki didn't take note of it. Instead, the boy drew up the new lyrics in his mind, recalling how he felt the moment he read them two days ago. And then he opened his mouth and sung:

 

_We're made of pieces and pieces and pieces and pieces and-_

_Together as one,_  
Together it's fun.  
Alone I've got nothing,  
Alone life is boring.

 _We'll choose our own path, and stick to it,_  
We'd choose our path and never quit –  
'Cause, we've got something here.  
And, we're-  
We're never alone.  
We're never  
'Cause we've got each other,  
and together, we fit  
better than anyone would admit.

_We're made of pieces and pieces and pieces and pieces and-_

_No one said life was fair_  
I'd sit alone, and grin and bear it all.  
Just don't say goodbye.  
Just don't let me fall.  
Alone I might just cry.

' _Cause together we are one_  
Alone we are none.  
Because we're made of pieces and pieces and pieces of you.

 _We aren't complete without you._  
Alone we cannot function  
We're family no matter how dysfunction-al  
'Cause together we are one  
Together we have won  
We'll overcome these problems.

_Because we're made of pieces and pieces and pieces and pieces and-_

_No one said life was fair_  
I'd sit alone, and grin and bear it all.  
Just don't say goodbye.  
Just don't let me fall.  
Alone I might just cry.

' _Cause together we are one_  
Alone we are none.  
Because we're made of pieces and pieces and pieces of you.

 _I know this feeling_  
Heartwrenching, and oh so real.  
Overflowing emotions,  
I should've known

 _Misery, regret,_  
Anger, and pain, I've felt it too.  
Forgive, forget, I don't doubt you.

 _But people live, people die,_  
People know, people lie.  
I'm up to my limit.  
I can't watch any longer.  
I'm not any stronger than you  
But I want nothing more  
Than to be greedy  
And I don't. want. to. be. forgotten.

_Because we're made of pieces and pieces and pieces and pieces and-_

_Because when you're over there,_  
I want to exist, and show me you care.  
I can't help it; you're the one.  
You're my light, your my poison.

 _No one said life was fair_  
I'd sit alone, and grin and bear it all.  
Just don't say goodbye.  
Just don't let me fall.  
Alone I might just cry.

' _Cause together we are one_  
Alone we are none.  
Because we're made of pieces and pieces and pieces of you.

 _This is no lie_  
This is no dream  
this is reality  
And we're made of pieces and pieces and pieces and pieces and-

' _Cause alone we are none._  
We cannot be one, for  
This puzzle is nothing without the pieces and pieces of you.

* * *

 

 

"M'lady, you are an'  _idiot."_  Antonio said as soon as the whole band was gathered backstage once more. Even though his words were harsh, his voice was laughing, and he sounded like he approved.

The girl shrugged, cheeks flaming in a light blush, "What?" she muttered, "You can't say they didn't deserve it." she defended weakly. "Or that you didn't want say it yourselves."

Yuki knew she did it not just for the band, but for him specifically. He whispered a small "Thanks." and felt grateful as Genta sent him back a nod.

"Overkill." Matthew muttered under his breath.

There was a mischievous smirk on Genta's lips, "Oh, don't pretend you weren't in cahoots with my little scheme."

"I was  _not_!"

The tall brunette laughed. "Where did you think I got a computer to look up the sentence? It's not like you guys taught us any swear words. And it's not like they teach us how to say that in my Japanese course."

Matthew let out a little gasp, and he ran over and pulled his laptop into a hug. "Is  _that_ what you w'ar doin' with m'ah Darlin' earlier?" he cried. "How could'ya betray my baby's love like that?"

"What? What happened?" Kaithey whined over their retorts, as Genta was rolling her eyes at the older twin. "Gen-Gen? Hintos? Lucy?" The shorter girl asked, "Caucasian here, remember? Limited Japanese knowledge? The only Japanese I know is what Hinto and Hinto taught us when we met!"

"You don't want to know." Yuki commented, tilting his head down, feeling almost embarrassed at Genta's earlier plot.

Antonio shook his head, "'s not fer t'a ears of lil' girls." he teased in mock disappointment, "M'lady was a bad, bad girl."

"You're not goin'ta learn how to say it as well." Matthew threatened the younger girl.

The fiery-dyed haired girl pouted, but shrugged in the end, "Fineee," she drawled sulkily. "It sounded like you had fun, Gen." Kaithey remarked offhandedly, smiling at her best friend.

"It sure was." Genta grinned. "Oh, if only I knew more Japanese; I could've been so creative with my insults."

The lead singer shook his head weakly, running his hand through his tied hair in an exasperated manner. "I suppose," Yuki commented "in a way, we should've expected that to happen. This is Genta we're talking about." he said. And they all knew firsthand how protective that girl could be at times. The boy gave a guilty laugh when he couldn't keep inside his utter amusement of the whole situation any longer.

The group shared a look with each other and they just couldn't help bursting out laughing together.

"Yeah." These people never changed.

 

 

* * *

**The next day:**

The five of them stood by the back entrance of Kaiba Land waiting for their driver to pull up. Kaiba had graciously offered them a limo to drive them all back to the airport. The man's deep blue eyes seemed to linger on Yuki momentarily as he told the group the chauffeur wold drive them  _anywhere_  they wanted him to. The green-haired boy got the man's point. As did the other four.

But Yuki wasn't sure if he could force himself to concede with Kaiba's plan.

As Yuki was mentally debating with himself, a dark limo pulled up, welcoming the members of PIE on. The lead singer followed on dutifully, trying hard not to dwell on the issue.

"Where to?" the chauffeur asked.

Yuki was vaguely aware that his bandmates were all staring at him. "Domino Airport." he said as calmly as he could. The boy turned to his friends, with a short "What?" as they continued to stare, albeit slightly disappointed, at him.

In the background, they could hear the chauffeur give an obligatory "Understood."

Yuki turned away from the group, opting to stare out the window instead. His friends stayed quiet as the limo drove, heading slowly towards their destination, and away from the city. He could feel them exchanging glances at each other behind his back.

Yuki watched as the familiar neighbourhood drew further and further away from his view. There were knots in his stomach. The green-haired boy leaned his forehead onto the cool, tinted glass windows, staring out into the road.

His eyes blurred his ride to the airport with time in the cab when he was running away from home. The boy bit his lip, trying not to give in, but in the end, the thought leaked into his mind loud and clear.  _I'm running away again, aren't I?_

Yuki sat, hands clenched in his lap. In a sudden impulse, the boy jumped up, heading towards the driver. He tapped the window dividing the driver and passengers, getting the chauffeur's attention.

The man nodded at the boy, "Is there a problem, sir?"

Determined violet eyes stared back at the man. "I'm sorry, but could you make a quick detour?" Without meaning to, Yuki could feel his eyes wander, looking back towards his bandmates sitting with him. Their steady, encouraging eyes stared evenly back, reassuring the boy. All feeling of worry dissipated at that.

"Where to?" asked the chauffeur.

Yuki's voice could not be more confident as he spoke his next words. "Kame Games." Because this time, he wouldn't be running away again. Yami placed his card down and ended his turn days ago. It was his move now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got fanart! <3 Thank you Crystia, my dear!  
> crystia77.deviantart.com/#/d4npgy0


	17. Just talk it all out

Confidence and determination only lasted so long before it disappeared back into slinking cowardice. Like waiting in line for a death-deyfing rollercoaster ride, as the lineup took longer and longer, the more time there was for doubts to piled up, causing one to sink back into uncertainty and despair. Yuki's decision to confront his high school friends was no different. However, one could say that luck was on Yuki's side that day. When the limo made it to Kame Games, Yuki had to look no further for all the key players. He never knew how lucky he was for that, for had they not been there, Yuki's story would not have had a conclusion until many more years to come.

Yuki strolled up to the Gameshop the moment he was out of the limo, pausing in front of the door. He turned on his heels, facing his friends, hand clutching tightly on the doorknob. From the corner of his eyes, Yuki noted the 'Welcome, we're open' sign hung on the door, knowing he'd have no excuse to leave even if he wanted to.

The green-haired boy looked over at his friends trying to ignore the wispy thralls of dread beginning to wrap around his person once more. "So," he began hesitantly, forcing his mouth to talk about  _anything_ just to keep his mind off the inevitable. "Here I am." he said unnecessarily, stalling for time.

The group gave him a pointed look, obviously seeing through him.

Yuki blushed in embarrassment, before shaking his head clear. He breathed out. "Okay," he began again, stilling looking unhealthily ridged and pale, but hands clenched in determined fists. "I know you all mean well, but, can I take care of this alone?" he asked hesitantly. "I appreciate the fact you guys like to protective me – us – " the boy amended quickly, "but this is between them and me. And I  _will_  be able to get through this."

Genta nodded, sending the boy a soft smile. "Of course we know that. This fight doesn't involve us, and we won't be as rude as to butt in when we're not wanted. We're just here for you to know – and never forget – that we'll  _always_ have your back."

"I know you know." Yuki said, cracking a smile. "But  _some of you_ ," he teased, "are quite impulsive, I've realised."

Genta tried to hold back a blush as Kaithey nodded cheekily, remember her own actions not too long ago.

Yuki grinned, a calm warmth slowly spreading through his stomach. "But I really appreciate it." he told them lovingly.

"Na worries, Shorty. We'll keep 'em in line." Matthew cried, slapping the younger boy encouragingly on the back.

The green-haired boy nodded. "Thanks." he acknowledged sincerely, before smoothly turning back to the door. With a deep breath, Yuki stared determinately into the future, turned the handle and stepped inside, ready to face the past.

* * *

 

"Welcome to Kame Games." A voice called out as soon as the door chime rang.

Yuki swallowed hard, wondering if it would be awkward if he didn't answer but instead tried to slip past the cashier table. Probably.

"Gramps." Yuki greeted instead. The short boy could feel his friends scrambling behind him, most likely trying to catch a glimpse of his grandfather if the whisperings of 'what colour is his hair?' to each other was any indication.

The old man in front of him jumped up at his grandson's voice, violet eyes wide with surprise. "Yugi?" he man called out. "What are you doing here?" Soloman's eyes flickered worriedly towards the back stairs of the game shop leading to their home. "Oh, Yugi. Perhaps you should come back later…" Gramps said softly, voice suddenly dropping to a hush tone.

Yuki smiled at him, realising what was going on. "It's alright Gramps." He said, eyes brimming with confidence. His own violet eyes followed his Gramp's gaze up the stairs. Already he could hear faint, familiar voices from beyond the door. "I can handle it." Yuki said. " _I can."_

No matter what was going to happen this time, he wasn't going to run away from the battle. Not anymore. He could face Yami because he wasn't alone. And he never would anymore.

Soft, wrinkling hands cupped his cheeks. "Are you sure, Yugi?" Soloman asked not disbelievingly, but worriedly.

The green-haired boy's heart warmed and steadied more than it had ever been that day, from that mere gesture. "Absolutely."

With a small nod, the old man backed down, eyes never leaving his grandson's face. "If that is what you believe." Soloman said at last. The grandfather slowly made his way back to the counter. "If anything should happen, I will be here."

"Yeah." Yuki replied with a warm smile. His eyes flickered towards the group trailing behind him as well. "I know you will."  _They all were behind him._  Perhaps his old self might've been known as a coward, shying away from any conflict, but not anymore. No, he _was_  here, and you'd better believe it, Yami.

The short boy slowly made his way up the back stairs, suddenly stopping at the top of the steps, unable to open the door. He peeked through the small open crack, violet eyes scanning over his high school friends in an almost longing glance.

"Ya take that!" Joey's voice echoed from within.

"Not so fast. I sacrifice my monster to summon my  _Curse of Dragon_." Yami.

"Nice!" Tristan.

"You can't beat Yami  _that_  easily!" Tea.

Their voices circled in the air around Yuki like haunting ghosts. The short boy clenched his hand over his heart in response. Oh, why did it ach so much?

If he'd just been able to  _forget_  them, this wouldn't happen. But no matter how hard he tried, despite all they'd done, he couldn't help but remember all the fun times they'd had together.

He remembered their laughter at him, but he also remembered their laughter  _with_  him. He remembered being ignored, but he also remembered being pulled into group hugs. He remembered his friends walking away from him, but he also remembered being pulled into their mischief with large grins plastered on their faces.

Why was it so hard? The lines between friend and acquaintance, and acquaintance and stranger were so fine.

The bad was always accompanied by the good. Yuki just didn't know what to feel. A part of him  _hated_  them. A larger part longed to make everything right with his friends; his high school friends; his childhood friend. Because there had been no reason for this to have happened. There was no reason why they had fallen out.

And perhaps, just perhaps, it was likely that … maybe they felt the same too? Yuki clutched the wood door tightly in front of him like a ballistic shield to filter words he was afraid he couldn't handle.

Yami's head turned over to him at that moment, despite having been facing the other way the whole time. For a quick jolt of a second, Yuki wondered if this was a sign that the two of them had a bond deeper than just a physical golden chained pendant. How else had Yami just  _somehow_  know?

Crimons eyes stared. "Yugi?" the man said in a voice hardly containing his bewilderment.

Stiffly, Yuki gave a short nod and then he pushed the door open the whole way, trying to ignore his trembling hands. "Yami." Yuki greeted back.

Beside the tri-coloured-haired Pharaoh, the other three stared at him with equally disbelieving expression. Yuki turned towards them. "Tea, Joey, and Tristan." he nodded civilly. His voice threatened to tremble under their cool stares, but Yuki held strong, taking in a deep breath instead. "How are you all?"

There was an unnatural silence in the air.

"Yer here."

"Yes." Yuki agreed. His violet eyes flickered towards the speaker; Joey.

The blond seemed rather fidgety, and that bewildered expression on his face never left. Seemingly, as though coming to a decision, the boy suddenly locked eyes with the lead singer. "Why're yah here?"

Rejection? The green-haired boy felt his breath hitch involuntarily. "What do you mean by that? I'm here 'cause I want to forgive-"

" _No."_

Yuki paused momentarily in his rant.

"No, I did'n mean it like tat." Joey interjected before the shorter boy could start talking again.

"Then  _what?_ " Yuki cried when the blond gave no explanation.

Joey shifted in his spot, looking like he was squirming under Yuki's intense stare. Finally, the blond looked down. "You 'ave no reason ta come all tha way 'ere just ta forgive us. We haven' done anythin' ta make up fer it expect…" the boy paused, "'cept 'fancy words'."he mumbled out in a self-mocking tone.

 _Fancy words._  Yugi froze, feeling a sense of déjà vu as the sentence echoed in his mind.

A scene from the Umbrella Café mentally played out. Yuki watched in his mind as Kaithey stood in front of him, face red, screaming into his face.  _You damn don't need to, or -or even_ _should_ _forgive them! What have they ever done to make it up to you, huh, fancy words?_

Yuki dipped his head into a short nod in a stiff manner, trying not to react. Of course Joey heard. If there was anyone in this group who understood English well enough, it was Joey, with his Brooklyn flavoured Japanese indicating his foreign blood.

The lead singer took another calming deep breath, ready to retort back, but Yami beat him to it.

"It's not just ' _fancy words'_  when I meant everything I said!" The Pharaoh raged.

Joey whipped his head over to the ancient spirit. "Yea, but how can anyone  _tell?"_

"Who's side are you on?" Tea snipped.

"Of course you can tell if you're sincere." Yami yelled back just as the blond snapped a "Why does tha mat'tar " at the girl.

Their argument only escalated from there, completely forgetting little Yuki standing off to the side.

On an impulse, Yuki suddenly swung his arm backwards and slammed the door shut; a part of him looked victoriously on as the other four jumped in surprise at the slam and stopped arguing. "Just stop arguing,  _please."_  he pleaded softly. "I can't stand it. Why can't we all get along like we did before?"

"Then you're forgiving us only because you don't want this to continue any longer?" Yami suddenly asked, his face scrunching into an unreadable expression.

"No!" The green-haired boy cried out before anyone else could digest the thought. "Of course not!" The boy turned to his Dark self, eyes wide. "I'm doing it because I  _know_  you were sincere; because that's how I feel as well."

"And you'll just forgive us like that?"

Yuki nodded, before letting his stare drift on the man's face and meeting the Pharaoh's eyes. "I will forgive you, but I will not forget what you have done." he confided softly.

"That's just selfish." came a retort from the side.

Yuki felt his back stiffen at Tea's accusation; he didn't need to hear this from her. "No," Yuki said slowly, choosing his words carefully, as he rounded towards the girl. "Selfish is when you change yourself so completely just for your own desires, and completely ignoring old friends for no reason."

His violet eyes flickered towards Joey, "Selfish is when you follow what everyone else is doing instead of what is right." Tristan, "and when you lose yourself to love – do whatever it takes to get her attention, completely forgetting about your friends." Pharaoh, "Selfish is when you refuse to adapt and change for the ones you love, and instead acting as you always have, regardless of those around."

Because this was what had happened. Grampa had made him open his eyes when the old man had sat him down a couple days ago, and made him stop repressing and just  _talk_. Somehow it cleared things up about why things happened as it did. He'd recalled the way Tea had been looking at Yami. The way Tristan looked at Tea. The way Joey looked at the others for approval. And the way Yami acted ever inch of the ever-important Pharaoh he used to be with subjects looking up to him. It made sense.

There was a profound silence before a sharp ' _tsk'_  broke it. Yuki's violet eyes snapped up towards the sound; Joey.

"I'm selfish, I admit. Yah don't hav'ta tell mah, ah know." the blond swallowed hashly, before meeting the eyes of the shorter boy. "I appreciate yah apologising ta us an' all, but you can't jus' say yah apologise because you  _understand_   _why_  when yah clearly _don't_. Ahm selfish. Yea; a'll admit that. But tha gives yah no right ta point it out like I'm too ignorant to realised what ah've done. I shouldn't have acted like tha, I  _know_." the boy snapped, "I regret it, but all ah want is ta be accepted inste'd of fallin' in and out of relationships and findin' out tha noth'n had changed even after ah stopped playin' delinquent 'n tried buildin' an actual friendship. Maybe ah was just too  _scared_  ta face the possibility tha noth'n changes _no matter how hard I try_!" Joey finished in a huff, eyes looking away as his face pinched tightly, trying but failing to keep his emotions in check. "Why can't ah delude mahself like that?"

Yuki pressed his lips into a line before taking a breath and glancing at the other three standing just as shocked as he was at Joey's revelation. "Ahh." he grunted from the back of his throat just to fill the sudden silence they were forced into.

There was a rustling of clothing beside him as Tea suddenly turned to face him. "Joey's right." the girl said strongly. The brunette paused before dropping her stance. "Well, you're right too, but so is Joey." she amended heatedly. "I feel like I'm being labeled as the villain just because I've short with you; snapping at you lately. But maybe I just –" Tea let out a frustrated hiss, as if she wasn't sure how to express her words. "I – Look, Yugi, I don't hate you. But you're  _everywhere._  I just – maybe I just don't like how you're  _always_  around." the girl exclaimed before peaking a glance a Yami.

Tea continued, "No matter what we're doing, we always end up in one of your save-the-world plots.  _Always!_ " the girl cried out frustrated. "Maybe sometimes I want to spend time relaxing and not worrying like  _normal_  students! You always manage to get us ended up smack in the middle of some impossible plot and you always manage to drag us along in all sorts of death defying stunts. And I grin and laugh all the way, but do you know how frightening it is!?" Tea ranted breathlessly. By now Yuki was pretty sure she speaking before thinking, and only half conscious of the things coming from her mouth.

"And all we ever have on our minds is you – how you're doing, how you'll know what's going on, how we'll support you, how you'll save the day - and nothing else. Maybe I want – I just want to stop drifting to another dangerous adventure with you, and I just want Yami to stop thinking of nothing and no one but you all the time! I want – I mean, all my girl friends talk about their ex-boyfriends, and the romantic dates they've been on, and all I have are half excursions that I end up having to fight for my life! I don't want it!" Tea finished almost hysterically, half-sobbing to herself. "I want something for  _myself_  for once!"

In front of her, Yuki only nodded, unconsciously biting on his bottom lip raw. "Then why couldn't you just  _tell_  me?" the boy begged. "Instead of acting so … so –"

"Don't blame Tea; whats wrong with giving it all for love?" Tristan suddenly butted in.

"To give up your friendship for it?" Yuki countered.

Tristan shook his head, hands in a determined fist. "We're not going to be high-schoolers forever." the boy refuted vehemently. "When we reach college or university, what are the chances we'd never fall apart? We'll make new friends and move on gradually." He gestured towards himself, "All I'm doing is looking forwards to the future, and trying to find that someone for myself instead of spend each day in the same old relationship and _never_  moving forwards."

Tristan locked eyes with the green-haired boy.

Yuki didn't want to look like he was backing down, but the three of them, if he thought about it, weren't entirely in the wrong. Yuki closed his eyes. He could blame his classmates for all that happened, but that didn't mean he had no cause in it as well. He was just a guilty as all of them. "Yes," he said, "and selfish, I suppose," Yuki began once more, casting his mind to his own actions this time, "is not realising what the people close to me are _really_ thinking, and merely assume that as long as I'm having fun, you guys are too. And thinking that everyone can understand what I'm thinking and how much I cherish you guys,  _without_  expressing myself in any way. And thinking that everything and everyone would be on a stand-still until  _I'm_  ready to change. And..." Yuki shook his head, thinking about his bandmates, "and trying to force myself to believe that everything will be fine, without realising just how much I'm hurting other who care for my well-being." he admitted guiltily.

The green-haired boy looked up just in time to catch Yami staring at him. The Pharaoh let his face relax into a smile once he noticed his Light's attention. "Yeah, I think that covers everything. We were all at fault one way or another." Yami mused softly.

Yuki leaned against the wall, letting his arms droop as he studied the rest of the group from the corner of his eyes. "Do you think we can still repair this friendship?" he asked honestly. "This friendship that seemed to be built on misunderstandings and unspoken words?"

"It wasn' always like tha." Joey spoke up.

"I know."

"I believe in second chances."

Yuki glanced over at Yami who spoke those words, a smile on his lips. "Yeah, so do I." he responded.

"And I also believe that while there were misunderstandings and unspoken words, our friendship had never been a lie." The ancient spirit continued. "We can still rebuild our friendship."

"I'm willing to give it a try." Yuki agreed readily. "And maybe this time without a hidden agenda behind all of our actions?" the boy tried joking.

They stared at each other, trying to carve each other's faces and emotions into their minds before they all nodded and agreed. "I can't say I haven't felt bad about the whole thing at all." a soft murmur told Yuki. There were equally soft grunts of agreement from the others.

"Can we start of from where we hadn't messed up?" Yami offered. "Let all of our mistakes be something of a distant memory?"

"Please." Yuki responded, giving out a weak smile. Unsure of how to further proceed, the boy held out his hand. "Renewed friendship?" he asked.

The faces of the other members slowly stretched into a smile; an uneasy smile, but in time it would be fine. They shook on it. "Renewed friendship."

 

* * *

 

 

When Yuki finally opened the upstairs door to let himself out, he caught the eyes of his band member all watching him eagerly, looking up from the bottom of the stairs. Yuki chuckled to himself before he gave a small thumbs up, hiding the sight from those standing behind him. It would take some time, but Yuki was sure they could fully mend their broken friendship once more.

In front of him, the other four band member nodded in understanding before crowding around him. Yuki couldn't help the weak smile slowly building on his face as they started to swarm to his sides like protective family members.

For a second, Yuki did nothing but grinned up to his family accepting their love as a way to calm his still-frantically beating heart. Then, he scuffed his feet along the ground as if trying to prolong the decision, before looking up at the door. "Well, I guess we should head out now." he said, attempting to sound decisive.

"Going already?" Gramps asked.

The lead singer nodded regrettably, trying to work a cheerful farewell smile on his face, but it ended up more of an aching grimace. Soloman beckoned his grandson to him. He patted the boy's head, never mind that Yuki was too old for such things. No; Yuki was his Gramp's boy, and Gramps could do it as much as he wanted.

"I wish I could stay longer." Yuki murmured, "But we have a schedule to keep."

"You're welcome to come back whenever you need to." Gramps answered. "My house will always be open for you and your friends."

"Thank you."

"And you kids better not be out partying every day! I expect all of you to take care of yourselves, or else I will come to take my Grandson back home with me." the old man lectured, looking sternly a the rest of the members of PIE.

"Gramps!" Yuki whined.

"Ya can count on us!" Antonio saluted.

"Yuki is like family. We won't let anything happen to him." Genta added sincerely. Beside her, Kaithey nodded fervidity, although Yuki had a sinking suspicion she had no idea what was going on at all with all the Japanese words being exchanged.

Soloman nodded, eyes flickering over to the other group standing awkwardly at the top of the stairs, all lost in their own thoughts.

"Don't worry, Gramps. We've all apologised." Yuki said quickly to ease his Grandfather's concern. "Honest."

Soloman shook his head, "I don't doubt that." the old man replied softly.

"'e was eavesdro'pin. Glass cup agains'ta door an' all." Antonio confided in a hoarse stage-whisper.

"Gramps!"

"Haha," Soloman laughed, rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "Can't this old man worry for his grandson?"

"Thanks Gramps." Yuki gave a soft giggle at the mental image of his beloved grandfather in stereotypical spy ware, tuxedo and all, following him around making sure nothing happened to his grandson. "Well, I'll be going then." he said once more.

Hurried footsteps scrambled downs the stairs. "…oh. Already?"

Yuki turned around to look at the speaker; Yami. "Yeah. Unless…" the boy shrugged, "you really want me to stay, and … err, chat …"

"Oh, no. I don't want to keep you." Yami replied, waving his hands to refute the idea.

"Yeah."

"There're probably people eagerly waiting for your performance right now."

Yuki gave an embarrassed shrug. "Well nothing's booked just yet."

"Oh…"

"We might soon." he amended.

"Yeah." Yami nodded, "I thought your band was quite good." he offered with a grin.

"Thanks. We practice a lot."

"So, you guys are going back home to practice more?"

"Uh huh. Until we get another gig. And speaking of going home… I guess we really need to get going…" the boy trialed off.

"Oh, right. Sorry you had to come all the way here."

Yuki shook his head quickly. "No, I think it was a good choice." he countered.

Yami nodded. "I agree." he said softly.

Matthew rolled his eyes, both hands in a mocking talking hand-puppet manner. "Duuddde." he hissed indiscreetly to his other band members under Yuki's talking. "Is it jus me, or is this goodbye getting' too long an' awkward?"

His brother nodded. "Okay. Yah farewell's don'. Let's go." Antonio suddenly said, yanking the smaller boy by his waist, and carrying Yuki out with a flying leap at the door. "Some of us don' wanna stand here gettin' old watchin' ya two unable ta say goodbye properly."

"Nice ta meet 'cha. Got'ta go. Bye." Matthew ended, scurrying behind them both with the girls in tow.

"Hey-"

Matthew was pulling the door shut just as the group behind him seemed to snap out of their stupor.

"Yug-" Yuki heard just as the door slammed shut.

The green-haired boy paused, head snapping up. He crawled out of the Hinto's grip, turned around and waited, but no one came out. "Er…?" he looked around confused. The others shrugged.

"Pro'ly was noth'n" Matthew said, watching the lead singer stare at the closed door. "You're pro'ly hearin' things." he replied with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

"I heard my name though…" Yuki began hesitantly. But the door remained shut and no one rushed out to finish what Yuki thought he heard before the door had slammed shut.

"Nah, they're pro'ly just say'n goodbye." Antonio reasoned. " _Still._ As if that goodby wasn' long and awkward enough. _"_  he muttered to himself.

"I'm pretty sure I distinctly heard the work 'Yug'." Yuki countered.

The twins shrugged once again. "Well, yah kno', 'Yug' and 'bye' sound the same. Right Kaithey?"

"Definitely!" the girl agreed wholly, eager to contribute after spending the whole morning pretending like she knew Japanese and nodding to whatever the old man was saying to them. "I can't tell them apart."

Yuki paused as he considered it, before quickly shaking his head looking exasperate. "I don't know why I'm even giving this a thought. Anything you rope Kaithey into definitely will not be true." he sighed.

"It does!"

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does!"

Yuki gave the twin a look. "Do you even  _know_  what ' _sounds the same'_  even means?"

"Totally." Antonio replied without hesitation.

The green-haired boy rolled his eyes with a laugh. "Right." he drawled, unconvinced. "Whatever you say."

Matthew chuckled, swinging his arms around the shorter boy's shoulders and draping over him. "Brat." He turned towards the rest of the group. "Let's go 'fore Shorty here starts hearin' haikus from tha whispers of th' wind next." he declared, ruffling the shorter boy's hair in an affectionate manner. "Ah, the things people hear when they're in a happy mood."

"Hey!" Yuki cried, "I am  _not_  hearing thing!"

"Right, Shorty."

"You're just deaf!"

"And don't forget stupid, lazy, lame, immature, and perverted." Genta ticked off easily as she followed calmly after the group.

* * *

 

After the confrontation with Yuki's friends was over, the chauffeur immediately drove the band members to the airport as he was instructed to. As like their ride over to Japan, Kaiba's suited bodyguard was there to greet them and guide them to their Kaiba-plane.

"You have arrived." the man greet as soon as the band members made their way towards him, suitcases in tow.

"Sorry for the delay." Yuki apologised for the group, guilty for dragging them all off on a detour right before their trip home.

Kaiba's bodyguard bowed silently. "Do not worry. I had been informed of such a possibility. Also," the man continued, "I have been instructed to wait until Mr. Kaiba arrives before allowing the plane to depart."

Yuki frowned in his surprise. "Kaiba's coming?"

"Mr. Kaiba informs me he has last minute details to settle before allowing your band to head home."

"What stuff?" As Yuki asked the question, the twins tugged frantically at his hoodie jacket.

The man adjusted his sunglasses as he tried to start, "Any business Mr. Kaiba has- "

" -is evil!" Antonio cried out, still pulling on their lead singer's jacket. "Com' on! We go'tta get on that plane 'fore he catches up!"

Yuki spun in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Kaiba is an evil business spec'tre who eats yah soul!" Matthew explained frantically, body vibrating on the spot with nervousness. The twin looked back and forth worriedly like Kaiba would appear out of nowhere. "He eats someone's soul every su'cessful business deal."

"And we're all next!" Antonio finished, grabbing on to his brother in fear.

Yuki glanced over at Genta, but the older girl didn't look like she knew what was going on either.

"We go'tta get on th' plane!" The Asian boy repeated.

Matthew took over, "And then we'll hide 'til Kaiba gives up."

"And then we'll be alive an' free!" the finished together.

The green-haired boy blinked slowly before letting out a sigh. "I think you two just want to play hide-and–seek." he muttered.

"Er, sure. Let's go with that, Shorty." The Hintos grabbed on to Yuki and the girls, practically dragging the three of them, ignoring the words Kaiba's bodyguard was yelling at them. "Com' on ah'ready! Hurry up!"

Yuki wriggled uncomfortably. "Yeah, but-"

"Where do you think you're going?" A cutting voice said from behind the group.

The group froze. Or rather, Yuki and the girls finally tried to resist even as the twin continuously tried to pull them forwards. Yuki turned around, already registering the older man by his voice before he even saw him. Kaiba.

"You can't possibly be thinking you're allowed to leave just like that." the same haughty voice called calmly over.

Yuki paused.  _What?_ The green-haired boy turned sharply around at Kaiba's statement. "I don't-" he began. The boy staggered as a pair of twins suddenly leaped at him, crushing him beneath their arms.

"NOTHIN'!" Antonio cried over Yuki and the girls' confusion.

"We owe you nothin'!" Matthew clarified as the twins and Kaiba stared heatedly at each other.

"Guys…" Yuki tried to begin.

"Don't worry your head about this, Mutou. This is between the three of us." Seto Kaiba said, never breaking his withering glare from the twins in front of him.

Behind him, Yuki heard Genta groan, and heard what suspiciously sounded like a facepalm. "Oh god," the girl muttered, "Come on Kai, let's let the boys flirt in peace."

The brunette moved to drag her counterpart onto the plane, but the shorted girl crossed her arms stubbornly. "But I wan'na steal flirting techniques from them." Kaithey pouted.

Genta rolled her eyes. "Look, I'll buy you a book on it." she replied, dragging the other girl with her regardless of her response. "I don't need to waste my life watching them make ogling eyes at each other."

Yuki looked hastily between the other guys (still staring at each other) and the girls leaving to board without them. "Hey, wait!" he called to Genta and Kaithey, "Don't leave me here alone with them!"

A small smirk wiggled its way onto Genta's face as the girl winked over at him. "Oh, I'm sure if you ask nicely, they'll let you join."

Yuki sulk as the older girl left him, before turning curiously back over at the boys. Honestly, how much damage could the twins have done in the three days they were in Domino City anyways? And how did whatever they do catch Kaiba's attention anyways?

Ever the peacemaker, Yuki let out a sighed mixed with confusion and exasperation before approaching the ever-staring three. "Come on, guys, it wasn't that bad, whatever it was… was it?" he unconvincingly tried to placate.

In a sudden burst of action, Matthew broke off into a sprint onto the plane. "We don' owe you anyth'an!" Mattew shouted, clutching his laptop tightly and grabbing his brother's arm before running away.

Kaiba arched an eyebrow, clearly unamused. "Want to bet on that?"

"What did they do?" Yuki asked, left alone with the taller man. They green-haired boy almost dreaded hearing the answer. Whatever they did that involved Kaiba couldn't be good. Especially considering the fact that the twins didn't seem even like the man in the first place.

"I did them a favour." Kaiba said succinctly, a light smirk present on his face.

Yuki sighed. "Couldn't you, you know, let them off? You helped them out of the goodness of your heart?" The boy tried, pitying the twins.

Kaiba gave him a blank stare.

Yuki couldn't help sighing once more. "Fine, I'll tell them." he said in defeat.

Kaiba gave him a smirk. "It's not my fault they were pushing me to do something last minute for them. They should at least know proper business policies. No one give for nothing; and that includes me."

Yuki groaned. "Yeah, yeah." he muttered. He sent Kaiba a short smile. "Thanks, by the way." he added warmly.

An elegant eyebrow arched. "For what?" the burnet said. "I don't recall doing anything for you."

The green-haired boy bit back a grin. "Well, thank you all the same." he repeated. Yuki turned to get on the plane only to have a soft 'hmm' from Kaiba catch his attention. The boy turned back around, spotting the business man looking off to the side, seeing something Yuki couldn't spot from his relatively lower position. "What is it?" Yuki finally asked when Kaiba seemed content just staring out and not explaining why.

The older man shifted his attention back to Yuki, eyes calculating. "If I were you, take your time boarding the plane." Kaiba finally said.

"What?"

But Seto had already left the green-haired lead singer on that cryptic note, quickly mixing in with the crowds in the airport. Yuki frowned to himself, shaking his head in confusion. Kaiba; who knew what went through that man's brain? Nevertheless, Yuki stalled for time, rocking on his heels and twiddling his thumbs until he couldn't stand standing uncomfortably all alone any longer. The boy slowly turned back towards the plane to board with his bandmates once more.

And that was when he finally heard huffing yells of his name behind him.

Yuki spun around sharply, recognising the familiar voice. His violet eyes met the panting form of Yami, rigidly running in his tight leather garb, millennium puzzle jostling with every step.

"Ra-damn Kaiba. He was trying to stall me on my way here with a cocky smirk on his face." the man huffed out, hand gripping his thighs as Yami tried to even out his breathing.

Yuki blinked. "Oh. But he told me to wait."

Yami frowned before shaking his head. "Anyways." he concluded, "that's not important."

The green haired boy waited for Yami to continue, but the Pharoah seemed more content trying to catch his breath than explain what was going on. "Is the rest of the group here?" Yuki finally asked, trying to fill the silence.

The Pharaoh looked up, then tilted his head to the side in an embarrassed manner as his amber eyes glanced off into the distance. "The moment you left, Soloman gave us all a lengthy lecture about friends and family. I wanted to talk to you, but once the door closed, your Grandfather wouldn't let us out without listening to him. The minute he was finished with me, I ran off to catch a cab to catch up with you. The rest of the group, undoubtly, are still under your Grandfather's heated speech." Yami swallowed, "If you wait a bit, they might get here in a while." he said certainty, and yet still with a soft undertone of uncertainty to it.

Yuki shook his head. "I think I left on a relatively good note. I don't want to mess that up and let our anger simmer again for Ra knows how many more years."

Yami considered the statement before finally letting out a sigh. "That's true." the Pharaoh admitted with a nod.

They lapsed into silence.

The lead singer scuffed his shoes on the ground. "Well…" Yuki began awkwardly, unsure of what to say anymore. He gestured lamely towards the general area of the plane. "I'll be going now?" he said, unable to help the questioning lilt in his voice.

"Yes." The other boy said, scratching his tri-coloured hair in a just as uncertain gesture as his Hikari. "Goodbye then. Good luck on your band." he replied with an awkward stiffness.

The green-haired boy nodded. "You too with your duelling." Yuki turned to leave, emotions in turmoil as somewhere in him wanted desperately to run off to hide until it was less awkward, and another part of him wanted to keep talking because who knows how long it would be until they talked once more?

"Hey, wait!" Yami suddenly yelled from behind, causing Yuki's step to falter. The green-haired boy turned around as his Yami shot him a hopeful look. "Yugi… Yuki, keep in touch this time." The Pharaoh asked. "Alright?"

Yuki paused for a second before a grin erupted on his face. "Yeah." he called back. "Of course!"

Because, like Yami, Yuki believed they could repair this broken friendship back to the strong, golden bond it used to be. They were friends, brothers, and a reincarnated soul of the other, brought together despite their huge million year difference.

Despite all the pain and hurt they'd endured, and knowledge that they couldn't idly wave it off like it was nothing, they  _were_  certain they could sort this all out. Slowly, but surely, they could work it all out in the end. And although they'd both moved on from their childhoods, both in opposite directions, they were both certain they still had one thing in common – a love for duelling.

And while friendship was more complicated than a simple card game, like dueling, it required two players willing to pour their heart and soul into the situation. And only Ra knows where that would take them next, but everyone knows, despite winning or losing, everyone only wants to have a great game. And there's nothing better to a great game than everybody sharing a laugh and shaking hands ends at the end of the day with the knowledge you have made yet another friend (or gained back your old one, in this case).

 


	18. Epilogue

_Excerpts from Yuki's emails:_

**February 20X1:**

To: kingofgames (Yami)  
Subject: RE: Hey, Yuki  
To Yami,  
Hello, it's been a while. I'm fine, thank you. I was surprised to see an e-mail from you, but yes, I did say we should keep in touch, didn't I? Nothing much has happened so far. How is your life? Any new tournaments lately?  
From, Yuki

Subject:RE:RE:RE Hey, Yuki  
To Yami,  
Hey. That's right; nothing much. We've just been practicing. We should really be writing new songs too, but we still have time before we produce our next album.  
Nothing from you too? I guess we're both quite free lately. Hopefully something will come up for both of us soon before it gets too boring. Say 'hi' back to the group for me too, please. Thanks.  
From, Yuki

 

**May 20X1:**

To:kingofgames (Yami)  
Subject: Bakura  
Yami,  
I hear the Bakuras are back in Domino. Have you seen them lately? I ran into them a while ago in England, and realised they never really felt like they fit in with the group. …Er, what I'm trying to say is, do you mind being friendlier towards them? I mean, they're good friends and all. Even if Bakura is a little … overbearing. Please? I would be forever grateful.  
Thanks, Yuki

 

**December 20X1:**

To:kingofgames (Yami)  
Subject: RE: Christmas Concert  
Yami,  
Merry Christmas, Yami! I'm glad you liked our concert, even if you saw it off a pixelated video someone took with their phone. We're so good that we make pixelated, low quality videos sound awesome. Really!  
Btw, I mailed you guys some Christmas presents. I hope it arrives before Christmas!  
Yuki

Subject: RE:RE: Christmas Concert  
Yami,  
Haha, very funny. Anyways, I just got the packages the other day. I guess they both arrived at the same time! I can't wait for Christmas. These guys are crazy about decorating the tree. I won't be surprised if there was actually no tree under all those ornaments. I sent you an attachment picture of it. What do you think?  
Yuki

 

**June 20X2:**

To: kingofgames (Yami)  
Subject: RE: Duel Tournament  
Yeah, I saw the tournament! It was awesome! Haha, you were a bit late at reminding me; the other guys also e-mailed me, nagging at me to not forget to watch, ages ago! Besides, I was looking forward to it myself too! They don't hold anything major like that in New York.  
Yup, I saw poor Joey's battle; he was so close to making to the semi-finals! He has the poorest luck!  
And hey, congrats on winning again! And they used 'Yami' too! When did you manage to get them to change it from my name? Wow, I feel out of date!  
Yuki

Subject: RE:RE:RE: Duel Tournament  
Aww, now you're making me feel like I should've been there! I really miss dueling tournaments!

 

**November 20X2:**

To: kingofgames (Yami)  
Subject: Teach Gramps!  
Yami! I got a letter from Gramps today. An actual  _letter_  from the post and all. Teach Gramps how to e-mail already! The mail takes too long and he's wasting postal stamps.  
Seriously, Yami, stop being lazy and teach Gramps how to use it already.

Subject:RE:RE: Teach Gramps!  
You're such a liar! I totally can tell you forgot! Lazy Lazy Lazy!

Subject:(RE:RE:) Teach Gramps!  
What have you been teaching him?! There're emoticons all over Gramp's letter! I feel like I'm talking to a teenager! D:

 

* * *

 

 

Yuki groaned into the back support of the couch as he yanked the hard laptop from under his head and substituted it for a pillow. He looked up quickly, squinting at the sun streaming from the double pane window behind the living room couch before stuffing his head back down. He was a teenager; he needed to sleep in.

Yuki turned on the couch, hiding his face in the dark corner, recalling he'd woken up early to catch some cartoons with the twins before he'd fallen back asleep halfway through. The green-haired boy grumbled to himself as he tried to drift off to sleep once more listening to the lull of the soft voices of the television the twins forgot to turn off.

Like a droning lullaby in a low murmuring tone, the TV continued their announcements. Yuki half-listened as the anchor-woman continued her daily review of Entertainment News. PIE was going to be on it, Yuki knew.

 As to prove him correct, " _And in Music, the Hottest Rock band around, number one on this month's chart is PIE. They've been consistent throughout the months so far, rising and falling within the top ten ranks of Hottest bands. Their latest album 'PIE: Pumpkin Infested Elevators' has been a great hit. Their lead single 'Pieces' has been a hit ever single it was heard for the first time in a special concert held in Japan two years ago…"_

Yuki grinned wearily to himself, letting his brain slowly shut down.

 " _In Gaming, the hit card game 'Duel Monsters' has reached an all-time high in local cities today. The game originally popular in Japan has become an international fad. City Tournaments are held in every city, winners all hoping to have a chance to play against the world champion, Yami Mutou. For all those who forget, it was revealed a year ago that the champ 'Yugi Mutou' was actually 'Yami Mutou' playing under his younger twin's name. This has been proven by friends, family, as well as the hosts of the previous Duel Monster Tournaments, Maximillion Pegasus and Seto Kaiba. Yugi Mutou is rumoured to be the lead singer of the Rock band 'PIE', but has yet to be confirmed._

" _In Heath, there is now a new –"_

"WAKE UP!"

Yuki jolted up from the couch as the entire piece of furniture bounced as a short muti-coloured hair girl jumper feverously on glared at the girl, trying hard to control his ragged breath. Kaithey had the nerve to merely laugh in his face.

"Come on, Lucy." the girl giggled, slapping at the green-haired boy's legs. "Up, up! We've work to do!"

"Let me sleep." Yuki groaned. "Bother the twins instead."

"But Hinto hit me with his drumstick!" Kaithey whined, rubbing the top of her head.

The lead singer rolled his eyes and threw his pillow at her head as well. " _Now_  will you go away?"

"Oh poo." Kaithey grunted. "It seems like I've got to unleash my ultimate secret weapon!" the girl declared.

Yuki recalled the last time she said that. "Throwing marshmallows at me –  _even if_  they were pink and clashed with my hair colour – won't make me move." the boy deadpanned.

Kaithey snorted. " _That_  was Plan Pink. I have more than just that."

"Right. Like when you were throwing bananas at me?" Yuki pointed out idly.

"That was Plan Yellow."

"And toilet paper?"

"Plan White."

"Right." The green-haired boy drawled, wiggling back down. "Have fun with that."

Kaithey jutted her bottom lip out as Yuki turned away. "He-ey, that's mean!" she whined. The girl slammed her hands to her hips, before pointing a finger straight at the sleeping boy's head. "I also have Plan Brown planned out, so don't make me use it!" she threatened.

For a while nothing happened, and then Yuki sat up quickly, trying not to look like he was cringing at those words. "Plan Brown?  _Brown?_ " he repeated, only to have the girl nod back at him. It sounded horrible already. Because honestly, anything brown Yuki could think of that Kaithey could possibly throw at him wasn't very pleasing.

Except chocolates. But what were the chances the girl would consider wasting her precious chocolates like that?

"Do I even  _want_  to know what Plan Brown is?" he whimpered, suddenly wishing he hadn't thrown that pillow at Kaithey so he'd actually have something to hide behind.

"Only the best of the best of  _all_  my plans."

Yuki shrunk back. "Begone ye foul beast?" he squeaked out.

"Nope! Too late!" Kaithey sang back. "Be prepared for the commencing of Plan Brown." There was a moment of silence before Kaithey sudden turned around, hands cupped around her mouth. "GENTAA! Come here so I can throw you at Lucy!"

Yuki froze. "Wait, what?  _Genta?"_

" _Duh."_

"How is Genta brown-like?!" And Yuki didn't think he even wanted to know how she would answer his unasked question of " _And how are you going to_ throw _her at me?!"_

Kaithey scratched her cheek. "Her hair is dyed brown." she stated easily, like it was obvious. " _Still_ brown _._  That girl is so unoriginal, right?"

"You say it like it's a bad thing." Yuki laughed. He recalled the colours Kaithey's hair had been over the past four years he'd know her. She'd been practically every colour of the rainbow, and then some.

The girl mock wiped a tear from her eye. "No one understands me." she lamented, before shaking back a grin to her face. "Now COME ON!" she urged, pulling at her bandmate's arm. "Or else I'll  _really_  throw Genta at you!"

"As if you could." Yuki dismissed, tugging out of her grasp in an attempt to look for the remote to change the channel.

An evil twinkled entered the girl's eyes. "Oh really?

"You're half her size!"

She tutted, wagging her finger at him. "But you see, I know an ancient secret, past down from generations to generations. A chant to summon and dominate complete and utter control over the magical powers of twin beings. They won't be able to help but following my every will - including throwing Genta for me." She crackled, curling her fingers together in a conspiringly evil gesture.

"Right." Yuki drawled disbelievingly.

"No, really!" Kaithey insisted. She rushed down the stairs to the basement where they kept their equipment, beckoning Yuki with one hand, the other already twisting the knob of the closed door. "Come, sing with me," Kaithey crooned loudly from downstairs. If the rest of his bandmates' shouts of panic were any indication, Yuki didn't want her to sing.

The boy jumped up and hurried down the stairs to their basement in haste, completely forgetting the remote search. He had scarier things to worry about, like what that girl was going to sing! He scrambled towards the basement door, even as he heard the girl bellowed out the first verse. "Oh Sally, Sally, you look like a squirrel. With your bushy tail, we can all take the train to Quebec. But me, I'll have to take a rain-check. Because in Paris there was a sparkly purple toilet. We'll all sit there and take your peanuts and boil it. 'Cause you're a squirrel~!"

"No! My ears! Well do whatever you say as long as you stop!" Yuki heard twin agonizing cries from downstairs.

_Oh, 'past down from generations to generations', huh?_ Yuki stifled a giggle.

 Behind them in the living room, the TV lights continued to flicker as the news ancher continued talking, never knowing she 'd lost another watcher. _"… and only time will tell if this new, developmental vaccine will be useful._

" _And finally in Techonology, as you are all aware, Kaiba Corp and RiRi Technologies had teamed up a year ago to produce the top of the line, newest computer-ware. It is rumored to be out for sale in January. For all those unaware, Kaiba Corp, ran by Seto Kaiba holds the number one position in technological corporations world-wide. RiRi Tech, ran by Riku and Rikou Hiranttsu holds second place. A temporary partnership like this one between the top two corporations has left the world in awe, eager to see their newest product. Their sales are expected to be over the roof. In a conference meeting, when asked why the two corporations had teamed up for this project, both Seto Kaiba and Riku Hiranttsu explained the benefits of combining both company's knowledge to help advance technology in this generation. It also is rumored that Rikou Hiranttsu muttered, "It's only because Kaiba's scarier than M'lady when he wants to be." under his breath. The twins have refused to confirm or deny this rumor, and Kaiba gives no comment on this matter. Who this mysterious 'M'lady' is, no one knows, but she certainly seems like she's a scary one if Hiranttsu's statement is true."_

And then it cut to a commercial break.

* * *

And in case you're interested, Bakura sold his stolen drumstick on e-bay and got rich. Seriously. :D

 

 

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, about the first part (the e-mails), I hope they worked out the way I planned them to. The earlier ones are supposed to sound kind of stiff like they still don't know how to talk to each other. And then gradually it gets more playful like how friends would e-mail to each other.
> 
> Anyways, did I surprise anyone with the RiRi revelation? I hope not. I've been dropping (not-so-helpful) clues left right and center throughout the fic. (Also little clues about their background too, but let's not get into that) Honestly, I had so much fun putting in little clues in the chapters every now and then.  
> Don't believe me? It starts in ch5 when the twins are mentioned to be excellent on the computer, and that they're not using their real names.  
> Ch9: The twins hide in the back to not be seen by Kaiba. They also mention how they left Japan because they couldn't beat Kaiba's "band" there (says Matthew, cutting off his brother)  
> Ch10 (and 12): The twins mention they're rich.  
> Ch11: They mention they have a second job they need to look professional for. Here I also introduced the twins Riku and Rikou Hiranttsu of the second top corporation, RiRi.  
> Ch13: Yuki is told how the twins refuse to let the girls support Kaiba Corp, and forces them to use RiRi products.  
> Ch16: Kaiba mentions how a successful electronic corporation (possibly in second place. Ohh, I wonder who...) rebooked for PIE in his venue, who also 'somehow' got Jianyu to allow them. And then the twins tell the group they had 'connections' that helped them manage this feat. The twins also mention how Kaiba riuns everything for them (referring to stealing first place)  
> Ch17: Kaiba tells Yuki he did the twins a a favour (by letting them rent out his venue for their band.)  
> Admittedly, they weren't all that helpful, but it was fun!
> 
> And before this ends, I want to thank everyone for sticking with me through the whole story! Especially in that two year span where I completely disappeared from fanfiction. When I came back, I was pleasantly surprised people still read this story. And the occasional reviews that came through during that time encouraged me :D
> 
> The End, and Bye!


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